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Copyright N?_/ 2-"w . 


COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 


# 










« 







GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 
IN THE UNITED STATES 

A TEXTBOOK 

FOE SECOXDAEY SCHOOLS 


BY 


WILLIAM BACKUS GUITTEAU, Ph.D. 

» 

Director of Schools, Toledo, Ohio 


BRIEFER EDITION 



BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO 

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
GTfje Rtberstbe $rcss Cambridge 








COPYRIGHT, 1923 
BY WILLIAM BACKUS GUITTEAU 
Copyright, 1911,1916, 1921 and 1922, by William Backus Guitteau 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 


FIFTH IMPRESSION, JANUARY, I923 


).r* 



STfje JMberai&e 

CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS 
PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. 


JUL 13 ’23 

Cl A752100 


,Z 3 


PUBLISHERS’ NOTE 


This book is an abridgment of Dr. Guitteau’s Government 
and Politics in the United States. It has been prepared in 
response to a demand for a somewhat briefer text in Gov¬ 
ernment which will allow time for the collateral study of 
United States History. By omitting much of the historical 
and explanatory detail which his original book contains, 
Dr. Guitteau has here produced a text which will require 
about two fifths of a year’s work. This is in accord with the 
recommendation of the Committee of Five of the Ameri¬ 
can Historical Association. The longer form of the book, 
however, will be continued in print for the benefit of teachers 
who desire the fuller presentation. 

This Briefer Edition is planned exactly to meet the usual 
recitation requirements. While sufficient illustrative mate¬ 
rial is provided to clarify the larger or more complicated 
topics, practically every paragraph in the book is intended 
to be made the subject of specific classroom questions by 
the teacher. It will give pupils a clear and definite under¬ 
standing of the principles and practices of their local, state, 
and national governments; and it will also give them the 
maximum of information best calculated to make them good 
citizens. 


CONTENTS 

PART I 

LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 

I. Rural Local Government. 1 

1. Our Federal Plan of Government. 2. Relation of Local to 
State Governments. 3. Classification of Local Governments. 

4. General Features of New England Towns. 5. Important 
Elements in Town Government. 6. The New England County. 

7. The Southern County. 8. Minor Local Divisions in the South. 

9. Township-County System of Local Government. 10. Origin 
of the Township in the West. 11. Differentiated Types of 
Township-County System. 12. The Town-Meeting in the Central 
States. 13. The Township Board and the Supervisor. 14. Other 
Township Officers. 15. The School District. 16. The County 
Board in the Central States. 17. The County’s Judicial Officers. 

18. Financial and other County Officers. 19. Local Government 
in the Western States. 

II. The Government of Cities. 15 

20. Definition of City. 21. Origin of Cities. 22. Development 
of Cities. 23. Problems confronting our Cities. 24. Our Most 
Serious Municipal Problem. 25. Incorporation and Charters. 

26. Two Important Types of City Government. 27. Three De¬ 
partments Under the Council-Mayor System. 28. Organization 
of the Council. 29. The Council’s Police Power. 30. Finan¬ 
cial Powers of the Council. 31. Miscellaneous Powers of the 
Council. 32. Procedure in City Councils. 33. The Mayor. 

34. Legislative Powers of the Mayor. 35. The Mayor’s Admin¬ 
istrative Powers. 36. Judicial Powers of the Mayor. 37. Ad¬ 
ministrative Officials. 38. The Commission Plan. 39. The City- 
Manager Plan. 40. Proposed Improvements in Municipal Gov¬ 
ernment. 

III. The Work done by City Governments .... 30 

41. Control of Police Administration. 42. Protection from 
Fire. 43. Control of Public Health. 44. Public Education. 

45. Public Recreation. 46. Charities and Poor Rdief. 47. 

The City Street. 48. Street Cleaning and Sewerage Systems. 




vi 


CONTENTS 


49. Water Supply. 50. Public Lighting. 51. Street Railways. 
52. The Problem of Municipal Monopolies. 53. Arguments for 
Municipal Ownership. 54. Arguments against Municipal Own¬ 
ership. 


PART II 

STATE GOVERNMENTS 

IV. State Constitutions.. .... 40 

55. Early State Constitutions. 56. Parts of the State Con¬ 
stitutions. 57. Bills of Rights. 58. Early State Legislatures. 

59. The State Executive. 60. The Judiciary. 61. Checks and 
Balances. 62. Development of State Constitutions. 63. Enact¬ 
ment and Amendment of State Constitutions. 64. Amendment 
by Constitutional Convention. 65. Amendments proposed by 
Legislatures. 66. Amendment through the Initiative and Refer¬ 
endum. 67. Authority of State Constitutions. 

V. The State Legislature. 48 

68. Composition of the Legislature. 69. The Members of the 
Legislature. 70. Organization and Procedure. 71. The Enact¬ 
ment of Laws. 72. The Governor’s Veto. 73. Scope of State Leg¬ 
islative Power. 74. Limitations upon Powers of State Legisla¬ 
tures. 75. Non-Legislative Duties. 76. Direct Legislation. 

VI. The State Executive. 57 

77. Contrast between State and Federal Executives. 78. Elec¬ 
tion and Term of the Governor. 79. Qualifications and Salary. 

80. Administrative Powers and Duties. 81. Political Duties. 

82. State Governors under the Federal Constitution. 83. Other 
Principal Executive Officers. 84. The Lieutenant-Governor. 

85. The Secretary of State. 86. State Auditor or Comptroller. 

87. The State Treasurer. 88. The Attorney-General. 89. State 
Superintendent or Commissioner of Schools. 90. Appointive 
Officers of State Administration. 91. State Boards or Com¬ 
missions. 92. Civil Service Reform. 

VII. The State Judiciary.. 

93. Our System of Law. 94. System of State Courts. 95. In¬ 
ferior Courts. 96. Courts of General Original Jurisdiction. 

97. Courts of Last Resort. 98. Special State Courts. 99. Choice 
of State Judges. 100. Tenure of State Judges. 101. Salary and 
Qualifications. 102. Subordinate Officers of Courts. 103. The 






CONTENTS 


Protection of Rights. 104. Procedure in Civil Cases. 105. Ad¬ 
judging Legislative Acts Unconstitutional. 106. Judicial Control 
of Executive Officials. 107. Relation of State to Federal Courts. 

108. Interstate Judicial Relations. 

VIII. Crime and Its Punishment. 77 

109. Public Wrongs or Crimes. 110. First Steps in a Crimi¬ 
nal Action. 111. Framing a Formal Accusation. 112. Arraign¬ 
ment and Trial. 118. The Punishment of Crime. 114. Places of 
Imprisonment. 115. The Treatment of Criminals. 116. The 
Prevention of Crime. 117. Treatment of Juvenile Offenders. 

IX. Control of Economic Interests. 84 

118. Economic Functions of Government. 119. Lands. 120. 
Forests, Game, and Fish. 121. Agriculture and Agricultural 
Interests. 122. Labor and Factory Laws. 123. Characteristics 
and Development of Corporations. 124. Organization and Con¬ 
trol of Corporations. 125. Regulation of Banks, Insurance 
Companies, and Railroads. 126. Industrial Combinations. 

127. Transportation — Roads and Bridges. 128. Canals and 
River Navigation. 129. Weights and Measures. 130. Trade¬ 
marks. 

X. Public Education.96 

131. Early and Modern Education. 132. State Control of 
Education. 133. Elementary or Common Schools. 134. Edu¬ 
cational Progress. 135. High School or Secondary Education. 

136. Colleges and Universities. 137. The State University. 

138. Administration of Public Schools. 139. The District System. 

140. The Township System. 141. City School Systems. 142. The 
County System. 143. State Administration of Schools. 144. Text 
Books. 145. Compulsory Education. 146. School Revenues. 

147. Federal Aid to Public Education. 148. Educational Work of 
the Federal Government. 

XI. State Finance. 107 

149. Expenditures of National, State, and Local Governments. 

150. State and Local Expenditures. 151. Sources of State Reve¬ 
nue. 152. Classification of Taxes. 153. Assessment of General 
Property Tax. 154. Equalization. 155. Levy and Collection 
of Taxes. 156 . Mortgage Taxes. 157. Inheritance Taxes. 158. 
Corporation Tax. 159. Poll or Capitation Tax. 160. Income 
Taxes. 161. License Taxes. 162. Franchise Taxes. 163. Re¬ 
forms in Taxation. 164. Borrowing Power of State Govern¬ 
ments. 






CONTENTS 


• • • 
via 


PART III 

THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 

0 

XII. The Formation of the Constitution. 119 

165. The Constitutional Convention (1787). 166. Organiza¬ 

tion. 167. The Contest over Nationalism. 168. The Great 
Compromise. 169. The Three-Fifths Compromise. 170. Navi¬ 
gation Acts and the Slave Trade. 171. Other Compromises and 
Modifications. 172. Sources of the Constitution. 173. Com¬ 
pletion of the Convention’s Work. 174. The Contest over Rati¬ 
fication. 175. Inauguration of the New Government. 

XIII. The Amendment and Development of the Con¬ 

stitution . . 127 

176. Modification of the Original Constitution. 177. Proc¬ 
ess of Constitutional Amendment. 178. The Bill of Rights. 

179. The Eleventh Amendment. 180. The Twelfth Amendment. 

181. Amendments since the Civil War. 182. Constitutional 
Changes through Interpretation. 183. The Doctrine of Implied 
Powers. 184. Chief Sources of Implied Powers. 185. Constitu¬ 
tional Changes through Usage. 186. Influence of Usage upon the 
Executive. 187. Usages affecting Congress. 188. Constitutional 
Modifications through the Party System. 

XIV. Relations of Federal and State Governments . 136 

189. The Federal System. 190. General Distribution of Powers. 

191. Powers of the National Government. 192. Classification 
of Federal Powers. 193. Interpretation of Federal Powers. 

194. Powers of State Governments. 195. Concurrent Powers. 

196. Prohibitions upon the National Government. 197. Prohi¬ 
bitions upon State Governments. 198. Privileges of States in 
the Union. 199. Duties of the States in the Union. 200. In¬ 
terstate Obligations. 201. Public Acts and Judicial Proceedings. 

202. Interstate Extradition. 

XV. The Senate. 14t> 

203. Congress a Two-House Body. 204. Equal Representation 
of States. 205. Relations of the Two Houses. 206. Election of 
Senators. 207. The Senatorial Term. 208. Qualifications of 
Senators. 209. Rights and Privileges of Members. 210. The Sen¬ 
ate’s Powers in Legislation. 211. Executive Functions of the 
Senate. 212. Power to Approve Treaties. 213. Confirmation of 
Executive Appointments. 214. The Senate’s Judicial Function. 




CONTENTS ix 

XVI. The House of Representatives. 154 

215. Composition of the House. 216. The Method of Apportion¬ 
ment. 217. Districting a State. 218. The Suffrage. 219. The 
Election of Representatives. 220. The Term of Representatives. 

221. Qualifications for Representatives. 222. Rights, Privileges, 
and Disabilities of Members. 223. Special Powers of the 
House. 


XVII. Congressional Methods. 161 

224. Term and Sessions of Congress. 225. Internal Organi¬ 
zation of Congress. 226. The Quorum. 227. Presiding Officer of 
the Senate. 228. The Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

229. Chief Sources of the Speaker’s Power. 230. The Committee 
on Rules. 231. Congressional Committees. 232. The Process 
of Legislation. 233. Relations of Congress to the President. 

234. Limitations on the Legislative Powers of Congress. 235. Clas¬ 
sification of Congressional Powers. 

XVIH. Organization of the Federal Executive . . 174 

236. Method of electing the President. 237. Number and 
Choice of Electors. 238. Qualifications for Electors and Voters. 

239. Time of Choosing Electors. 240. Meeting of the Electoral 
College. 241. Counting the Electoral Vote. 242. Election by 
the House of Representatives. 243. Changes in the Process 
of Election. 244. The Inaugural Ceremony. 245. Presidential 
Term, Salary, and Qualifications. 246. The Vice-President. 

247. Election of Vice-President by the Senate. 248. Statutory 
Presidential Succession. 


XIX. The President’s Powers and Duties. 183 

249. General Characteristics of the Federal Executive. 

250. Classification of Executive Powers. 251. Military Powers 
of the President. 252. Position as Commander-in-Chief. 

253. Duty to enforce the laws. 254. Protection of the United 
States. 255. Administrative Powers. 256. The Power of Ap¬ 
pointment. 257. Officers appointed by Concurrent Action of 
President and Senate. 258. Appointment of Inferior Officers. 

259. The Power of Removal. 260. Term of Federal Officers. 

261. Civil Service Reform. 262. Diplomatic Powers. 263. Ap¬ 
pointing and receiving Representatives. 264. The Power to 
make Treaties. 265. Legislative Powers. 266. Convening and 
adjourning Congress. 267. Power to recommend Legislation. 

268. The Presidential Veto. 269. Judicial Powers. 




X 


CONTENTS 


XX. The Executive Departments. 198 

270. The Federal Executive Departments. 271. The Presi¬ 
dent’s Cabinet. 272. The Department of State. 273. Depart¬ 
ment of the Treasury. 274. The Department of War. 275. The 
Department of Justice. 276. Post-Office Department. 277. De¬ 
partment of the Navy. 278. Department of the Interior. 

279. The General Land Office. 2G0. The Department of Agri¬ 
culture. 281. Department of Commerce. 282. Department of 
Labor. 283. Independent Boards and Commissions. 

XXI. The Federal Judiciary. 209 

284. The National Courts. 285. Federal Judges. 286. Juris¬ 
diction of the Federal Courts. 287. Jurisdiction depending upon 
Character of Suit. 288. Jurisdiction depending upon Character 
of Parties. 289. The Federal Judicial System. 290. Federal 
District Courts. 291. Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals. 292. 

The Federal Supreme Court. 293. Special United States Courts. 

294. Exercise of Federal Judicial Power. 295. The Law adminis¬ 
tered in the Federal Courts. 296. Declaring Legislative Acts Void. 

XXII. Expenditure and Revenue. 219 

297. Growth of Federal Expenditures. 298. Expenditures re¬ 
sulting from the World War. 299. Control of Federal Expen¬ 
ditures. 300. Criticisms of Federal System of Finance. 301. 
Proposals for a National Budget System. 302. Sources of Fed¬ 
eral Revenue. 303. Import Duties as a Source of Revenue. 304. 
General Characteristics of Excise Taxes. 305. Characteristics of 
Income Taxes. 306. Direct Taxes levied by the Federal Govern¬ 
ment. 307. Anticipatory or Extraordinary Revenues. 308. 

Bond Issues. 309. Short-time Loans. 310. The National Debt. 

XXIII. Coinage and Currency. 231 

311. Origin and Functions of Money. 312. Monetary System 
of the United States. 313. History of Metallic Currency. 

314. Currency Act of 1900. 315. Paper Currency. 316. First 
United States Bank. 317. Second United States Bank. 

318. State Banks. 319. The National Banks. 320. The Inde¬ 
pendent Treasury System. 321. Government Paper Money. 

322. Legal-Tender United States Notes. 323. Resumption of 
Specie Payments. 324. Recent Currency Legislation. 325. Ad¬ 
vantages of the Federal Reserve System. 

XXIV. Commercial Functions.. 

326. Commerce under the Constitution. 327. Navigation. 328. 
River and Harbor Improvements. 329. Tariff Duties. 330. Im- 







CONTENTS 


xi 


migration. S31. General Characteristics of Immigration. 
332. Social Effects of Immigration. 333. Control of Interstate 
Commerce. 334. Instruments of Interstate Commerce. 
335. Railway Transportation. 336. Federal Railway Legisla¬ 
tion. 337. Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890. 338. Recent 
Laws regulating Corporations. 


XXV. International Relations. 256 

339. International Law. 340. Federal Control of International 
Affairs. 341. Foreign Intercourse. 342. Diplomatic Representa¬ 
tives. 343. Duties and Privileges of Diplomatic Representatives. 

344. Consular Officers and Agents. 345. Duties of Consuls. 


XXVI. Territorial Functions . 262 

346. Territorial Power under the Constitution. 347. Expan¬ 
sion of the National Area. 348. Early History of Northwest 
Territory. 349. Early Territorial Legislation. 350. Ordinance 
of 1787. 351. Later Territorial Legislation. 352. Territories and 
Possessions on the American Continent. 353. The Government 
of Alaska. 354. The Panama Canal Zone. 355. Representative 
Territorial Government. 356. The District of Columbia. 

357. Other National Property. 358. Insular Territories or De¬ 
pendencies. 359. Hawaii. 360. Porto Rico. 361. The Philip¬ 
pine Islands. 362. Admission of New States. 363. Position of 
States in the Union. 


XXVII. Military Powers. 275 

364. War Powers of the Federal Government. 365. The Decla¬ 
ration of War. 366. Letters of Marque and Reprisal. 367. Cap¬ 
tures on Land and Water. 368. Power to raise and support 
Armies. 369. Officers of the Army. 370. Education of Officers. 

371. Militia. 372. The Navy. 373. Education of Officers. 

374. Rules for the Government of Land and Naval Forces. 375. 
Military Pensions. 


XXVIII. Miscellaneous Powers. 285 

376. Control of Naturalization. 377. Process of Naturaliza¬ 
tion. 378. Naturalization of Communities. 379. Effects of 
Naturalization. 380. Power over Bankruptcy. 381. Power over 
Copyrights. 382. Patents. 383. Weights and Measures. 384. 
Federal Power over Crimes. 385. Counterfeiting. 386. Piracy 
387. Offenses against the Law of Nations. 388. Treason. 






Xll 


CONTENTS 


XXIX. Political Parties. 293 

389. Political Parties in our Government. 390. Functions of 
Parties. 391. Organization of Parties. 392. The Party Machine. 

393. Party Responsibility. 

XXX. Nominations and Elections. 299 

394. Methods of Nomination. 395. The Party Primary. 

396. Types of Primaries. 397. Local Nominating Conventions. 

398. Judicial and District Conventions. 399. State Nominating 
Conventions. 400. Presidential Nominating Systems. 401. The 
Call of National Conventions. 402. The Delegates. 403. Pro¬ 
cedure in National Conventions. 404. The Nomination of Can¬ 
didates. 405. Presidential Electors. 406. Direct Primary Sys¬ 
tem. 407. Nomination by Petition. 408. Elections. 409. Qual¬ 
ifications for Voting. 410. Woman’s Suffrage. 411. Election 
Districts and Registration. 412. The Conduct of Elections. 

413. Casting and counting the Ballots. 

Appendix 

A. The Constitution of the United States ... i 

B. Area, Population, and Electoral Votes of the 

States , •.xvii 

C. Area and Population of Territories and Insu¬ 

lar Possessions .xviii 

D. Illustrative Material for the Study of Gov¬ 

ernment . xviii 

E. Selected References on American Government xx 

Index .xxiii 








ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING 

Road-making.10 

Spokane County Courthouse, Spokane, Washington ... 11 
Cumberland County Courthouse, Portland, Maine . . . . 11 

The New City Hall at Chicago, Illinois.20 

A Typical New England Town Hall.20 

Boston Public Library.21 

The Schenley High School, Pittsburgh, Pa..21 

Boston City Hospital Relief Station.32 

A Tenement-House Section in New York City.32 

A Street-cleaning Squad at work.33 

An Automobile Fire-Engine of the Latest Type.33 

A View in Central Park, New York City.36 

William H. Seward Park, New York City.36 

A Public Bath for Boys, Boston.37 

Field House at South Park, Chicago.37 

The Colorado State Capitol, Denver.44 

The Massachusetts State House, Boston.44 

Carnegie Institute, Pittsburg.45 

The New York State Education Building at Albany ... 45 

New York State Capitol at Albany.52 

Ohio State Capitol at Columbus.52 

Reduced Facsimile of a Legislative Bill.53 

Armory of the State Militia.82 

Police Protection during a Strike ..82 

A Lock in the Sault Ste. Marie Ship Canal.83 

A Part of the Queensboro Bridge, New York.83 

Two Photographs illustrating Forestry.86 

Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station.87 

The Dairy Car of the “ Better Farming Special ” .... 87 

Three Photographs illustrating the Centralization Plan of 
Schools.100 




























XIV 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Public School 165, New York City.101 

The Grover Cleveland School, Philadelphia.101 

The Capitol at Washington.148 

United States Senate Chamber.149 

United States Hall of Representatives.148 

The New Office Building of the United States Senate . . . 162 

The Executive Offices.162 

The Form of a Federal Law.163 

The White House.178 

f 

The State, War, and Navy Departments.178 

The Post-Office Department.179 

The Treasury Department.179 

A Presidential Proclamation.192 

An Early Attempt at Irrigation.. 193 

Present Methods of Irrigation.193 

The Library of Congress.202 

The Patent Office.202 

The Post-Office at New York City.203 

The Post-Office at Atlanta, Georgia.203 

Opening of the Panama Canal.244 

The Great Garland Canal on the Shoshone Project, Wyoming 245 

The Truckee River Irrigating Canal, Nevada.245 

United States Immigrant Station.248 

Registry Floor, Ellis Island Immigrant Station.248 

The Custom-House at New York City.249 

The Custom-House at Philadelphia.249 

The Governor’s Palace at San Juan, Porto Rico.258 

International Bureau of the American Republics, at Wash¬ 
ington, D.C.25£ 

United States Battleship North Carolina.259 

The United States and its Possessions.259 

Voters waiting at the Polls.308 

Casting the Ballot.308 

A Voting Machine.309 































I 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 
IN THE UNITED STATES 


\ 








GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN 
THE UNITED STATES 


CHAPTER I 

RURAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

I. Our Federal Plan of Government. The division of 
powers between the national and the State governments is 
one of the distinctive features of our political sys- Division 
tem. This division is established by the federal of powers 
constitution, which enumerates the powers of the national 
government, all others being reserved to the States or to the 
people. Those interests which concern the United States as 
a whole, such as foreign relations, national finance, foreign 
and interstate commerce, are entrusted to the national gov¬ 
ernment; while the individual States regulate those sub¬ 
jects which directly affect the citizen in his daily life, such 
as local government, education, property and contract 
rights, and criminal law. 

A further distribution of powers exists within each com¬ 
monwealth between the State government itself, and the 
various local governments (municipalities, school Local 
districts, townships, and counties). This division s° vernm0nt 
of powers is partly provided for in the State constitutions, 
but is chiefly a matter of legislative discretion. For this 
reason the powers of local governments are subject to 
frequent change, although generally local authorities are 
entrusted with the maintenance of public order and the 
immediate personal care of the people of each community 
(including such interests as schools, poor relief, street¬ 
paving and lighting, water supply). 


2 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


2 . Relation of Local to State Governments. In a coun¬ 
try whose government is centralized, the national authority 
Diversity oi determines the form and attributes of the local 
locaTgov- governments; hence in Great Britain, France, 
ernments and Italy, the system of local government is in 
large measure uniform in all parts of the country. On the 
contrary, under a federal government such as exists in the 
United States, regulation of local government is left to the 
individual States, each of which decides for itself what local 
areas and authorities shall exist within its borders. Hence 
diversity instead of uniformity characterizes local govern¬ 
ment in this country, the systems established by the various 
States agreeing on some points, but differing on many 
others. 

In every commonwealth, local government is adminis¬ 
tered through certain local agencies created by the State 
Dual char- legislature, by which body they may be regulated 
acter oi local and changed. These local divisions have a dual 
governments c ] iarac j- er . they are ( 1 ) agencies of the State gov¬ 
ernment, which entrusts them with the local administration 
of certain public or governmental functions; and (2) they 
are also organs designed to satisfy local needs and to regu¬ 
late the internal affairs of particular districts. 

3 . Classification of Local Governments. Local govern¬ 
ments may be classified into two groups: (l) rural govern- 
Ruraiand ments, including the township and county (to- 
urban gether with their various subdivisions — school 
districts, election and road districts); and (2) urban govern¬ 
ments, including villages and cities. 

Of rural local governments there are three leading types 
in the United States: (1) the town government of the six 
Types New England States; (2) the county or county- 
oi rural precinct type in the South, Southwest, and in the 
Far West; (3) the mixed or compromise type in 
the Middle, Central, and Northwestern States. These three 
types are a survival or reproduction of the three forms 


RURAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT 


3 


of local government which prevailed in colonial America; 
and the variety of types springs from original differences in 
the character and economic environment of the early settlers. 

4 . General Features of New England Towns. Town 
government is New England’s contribution to American 
local government. The town, it must be remembered, is a 
rural, not an urban community . 1 New England towns are 
generally irregular in form, with an area of from twenty to 
forty square miles. The population averages under 3000. 
The town is sometimes an agricultural, sometimes a manu¬ 
facturing community; and not infrequently both industries 
are carried on, this diversity in industrial life often causing 
discord in town politics. Communal property rights — the 
striking feature of the early town’s economic life — have 
been abandoned as unsuited to modern economic conditions; 
but the chief political characteristic of the ancient town — 
local self-government through a popular assembly — has 
been retained. 

5 . Important Elements in Town Government. The two 

most important elements in town government are the 
town-meeting and the board of selectmen. The Thetown- 
town-meeting is an assembly of the qualified vot- meetmg 
ers held regularly once a year, usually in the spring. Special 
meetings are called from time to time as occasion demands. 
The meeting is summoned by a warrant notifying the voters 
to meet at a certain time and place to transact the business 
specified in the warrant. Meetings are held in the town hall 
if there is one, otherwise in some church or schoolhouse. 
A moderator presides, and the town clerk acts as secretary. 

The most important functions possessed by this body are 
( 1 ) that of local legislation, and ( 2 ) of electing the town 
officials. As a legislative body the town-meeting Funotlons 
has power to enact by-laws regulating local affairs, 
including local finance, schools, poor relief, highways, pub- 

i But many towns are at least semi-urban, and others which may he classed as urban 
(with a population exceeding 8000 ) have retained their early form of town government in¬ 
stead of incorporating as villages or cities. 


4 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Town 

officers 


lie works and institutions, police, and sanitation. At each 
annual meeting, the town officers report in detail as to their 
administration of the town’s affairs, and submit estimates 
of the funds needed for the ensuing year. The town-meet¬ 
ing then discusses the report, determines town policies for 
the following year, votes taxes for local purposes, and elects 
the town officers. 

Of the town officers, the most important are the select¬ 
men, an executive board of from three to nine members, 
generally chosen for a term of one year. This 
board is charged with the general supervision of 
town affairs under authority conferred by statute or by the 
town-meeting. Other officers are the clerk, who keeps the 
town records, issues marriage licenses, and registers vital 
statistics; the treasurer, collector of taxes, assessors, con¬ 
stables, school committee, highway officers, overseers of the 
poor, library and cemetery trustees, and many others. 

In addition to their local duties, town officers act as 
agents of the State government for the assessment and col¬ 
lection of State taxes, enforcement of election and health 
laws, and other important services. 

6 . The New England County. In its origin the New 
England county was an aggregation of towns for judicial 
purposes; and although it has since acquired other func¬ 
tions, it is still primarily a judicial district in which civil 
and criminal courts are held, some by county, others by 
State judges. Of late years the county has gained ground 
as an administrative unit, although still occupying a sub¬ 
ordinate position in local government. 

In each county the people elect a sheriff, who is the 
principal executive officer attached to the court; also a 
County prosecuting attorney, clerk, treasurer, and a board 

of county commissioners, generally consisting of 
three members elected at large. The commissioners have 
charge of the county buildings (such as courthouses, jails, 
and in some States, poorhouses). They estimate the amount 


RURAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT 


5 


of taxes needed to defray county expenses, and apportion 
this amount among the various towns and cities by which it 
is levied. 1 Only in this last respect does the county exercise 
control over the towns. 

7. The Southern County. The Southern county was 
originally established as a judicial division in which courts 
were held, and as a financial district for the collection of 
State taxes. Other functions have been gradually acquired 
until to-day the Southern county has general charge of most 
local affairs, including schools, the maintenance of jails 
and poorhouses, and the construction and repair of bridges 
and highways. 

General administrative authority over county affairs is 
vested either in a county court or in a small board of com¬ 
missioners, members of which are chosen by the county 
voters. Other county officers are the assessor, col- officers 
lector, auditor, treasurer, superintendent of education, over¬ 
seers of roads, superintendent of the poor, clerk, recorder, 
surrogate; also county judges, a sheriff, coroner, and pros¬ 
ecuting attorney (the last-named officer sometimes acting 
for a judicial district including several counties). All of 
these officers are elected by popular vote, for terms varying 
from one to four years. 

8. Minor Local Divisions in the South. Practically all 
the functions of local government are monopolized by the 
Southern county. 2 The smaller local divisions have very 
limited powers, and their officers are generally controlled by 
county authorities. Townships were established in Virginia, 
West Virginia, North Carolina, and Alabama by the recon¬ 
struction legislation following the Civil War; but they were 
soon afterwards entirely abolished, or reduced to precincts 
for the election of constables and justices of the peace. 
School districts exist in all of the Southern States, but pos¬ 
sess slight powers of local taxation or administration. 

1 In New Hampshire and Connecticut the commissioners do not exercise the power of 
taxation or of making appropriations. 

2 In Louisiana the division corresponding to the county is called a parish. 


6 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


9. Township-County System of Local Government. The 

westward movement of population in this country has been 
Westward generally along parallels of latitude. Thus the 
migration Southwest has been peopled largely by settlers 
from the Southern States, who carried with them the county 
system of local government; while men from New England 
and the Middle States emigrated to the Middle West and 
Northwest, and established there the township-county sys¬ 
tem of local government, also called the mixed or com¬ 
promise system because it is a compromise between the 
local institutions of New England and those of the Middle 
States. 

Under this plan the functions of local government are 
divided between county and township, both units cooperat- 
„ , ing in the work of administration. The county 

plan oi local is relatively less important than at the South, the 
government j- owns j 1 jp } ess important than in New England. 

This form of local government prevails throughout the great 
group of States extending from New York to Nebraska, 
which together contain more than half the entire population 
of the country. The township-county system is therefore 
the most representative type of local government in the 
United States. 

10. Origin of the Township in the West. Township gov¬ 
ernment in the Middle West dates from the Land Ordinance 

Land ordi ^^5, providing for the survey and sale of the 
nance of lands ceded to the federal government by the 
several States and by certain Indian tribes. In 
accordance with the plan of survey adopted, the public do¬ 
main was divided into tracts six miles square, which were 
designated by the New England name of townships. For 
purposes of record and sale, each township was divided into 
thirty-six sections, each containing one square mile or 640 
acres, the sections being subdivided into tracts of 160, 80, 
and 40 acres. 

When a new State was formed out of this western terri- 


RURAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT 


7 


tory, the county plan of local government was first adopted, 

since that form is cheaper and better suited to a „ , 

. . Develop- 

scattered population. But since in each township mentoi civil 
land had been reserved for the public schools, it townsllip 
naturally followed that the township was made a body cor¬ 
porate and politic for school purposes, its inhabitants being 
authorized to elect school officers and maintain free schools. 
Since the schoolhouse in the center of the township affords 
a convenient place for the citizens to vote for State and 
national officers, the congressional township, already or¬ 
ganized for school purposes, next becomes an election dis¬ 
trict. Then as the population increases and the volume of 
public business grows larger, the need is felt for a gov¬ 
ernmental area smaller than the county to look after such 
matters as the preservation of order, the building of high¬ 
ways, and the care of the poor; and so to the township is 
entrusted the election of constables, justices of the peace, 
superintendents of highways, and overseers of the poor. 
“In this way a vigorous township government tends to 
grow up about the schoolhouse as a nucleus, somewhat as 
in early New England it grew up about the church.” 1 
ii. Differentiated Types of Township-County System. 
Two forms of this township-county government have de¬ 
veloped, the difference in type being partly due origin of 
to diversity in the original population. In the twot yp 0S 
southern tier of the Central States, where the early settlers 
were largely from the Middle States and the South, the im¬ 
portance of the county has been emphasized; while in the 
northern tier, where New Englanders formed a larger ele¬ 
ment among the early inhabitants, the position of the town¬ 
ship is more important. These two forms of the compromise 
plan of local government are sometimes called the county- 
precinct type and the township-county type, the former 
emphasizing the position of the county, the latter that of the 
township. 

1 Fiske, John, Civil Government in the United States, p. 87. 


8 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


The first of these types, in which the county is relatively 
more important, arose in Pennsylvania, and has since been 
County-pre- adopted with modifications in Ohio, Indiana, 
cinct type Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. In these States 
there is no town-meeting, nor are the townships represented 
on the county board. In general the position of the town¬ 
ship is one of strict subordination to county authority. 

The second type, where the township is more conspicuous, 
prevails in New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Illinois, 
Township- Wisconsin, Nebraska, Minnesota, and the Da- 
county type k 0 tas. In all these States the town-meeting exists, 
while five of them — New York, New Jersey, Michigan, 
Illinois, and Wisconsin — follow the so-called New York 
plan whereby the townships are represented on the county 
board. 

12. The Town-Meeting in the Central States. In the 
States which have the New York plan, a town-meeting is 

Election of although its authority is less than in New 

township England. In this meeting, all qualified voters of 
the township are entitled to participate. The 
annual town-meeting is generally held in March or April, 
special meetings being called by warrant as occasion re¬ 
quires. The most important business at the annual meet¬ 
ing is the election of township officers for the ensuing 
year. These officers are chosen by ballot, and generally 
consist of a supervisor, clerk, treasurer, assessor, and over¬ 
seers of highways, all elected for one year; and two or more 
constables and justices of the peace, elected for terms vary¬ 
ing from two to five years. 

Besides its power to elect local officers, the town-meeting 
has important legislative powers. Numerous matters that 
Legislative are local in character, affecting only the township, 
powers are su i3j ec t to the control of the people in town¬ 
meeting. They may make orders concerning the disposition 
of township property; authorize taxes for roads, bridges, 
schools, or other lawful purposes; vote to institute or defend 


RURAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT 


9 


suits at law; receive the annual report of township officers 
charged with the disbursement of money, and direct these 
officers in the performance of their duties; and generally 
may enact such by-laws as are deemed conducive to the 
peace, welfare, and good order of the township. 

13. The Township Board and the Supervisor. Under the 
Pennsylvania plan there is no town-meeting, and the posi¬ 
tion of the township is less important as compared with that 
of the county. But in general, the same township officers 
are chosen as under the New York plan, and the follow¬ 
ing description of township organization applies to both 
types. 

In some States, general administrative authority over 
township affairs is vested in a board of trustees or super¬ 
visors, varying in number from three to eleven. 1 Thetown- 
The powers of this board vary greatly, but its shlpboard 
primary duty is to audit the accounts of the township offi¬ 
cers, and pass upon all claims against the township. Other 
important duties are often performed, especially in States 
where there is no single head officer of the township. 

In New England, general executive authority concerning 
township affairs is lodged in the selectmen. In a number of 
the Central States, similar authority is vested in „ 

47 Township 

a township board; while in others a double head- supervisor 

ship prevails, administrative authority being 
divided between the township board and a supervisor or 
trustee. 2 The supervisor or trustee has general charge of the 
township business. He receives and pays out all funds be¬ 
longing to the township, makes an annual report upon 
financial affairs to the town-meeting, serves in some States 
as ex officio overseer of the poor, and has other clerical and 
executive duties. 

1 In New York, Michigan, Illinois, and Nebraska, this board consists of the supervisor, 
clerk, and the justices of the peace; in Pennsylvania, of two or more supervisors; in Ohio and 
Iowa, of three trustees; in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas, of three supervisors; in 
Indiana, of three freeholders specially elected for this purpose. 

a This plan prevails in New York, Missouri, Kansas, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and 
Nebraska. 


10 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


14. Other Township Officers. The clerk is custodian of 

the township’s records, books, and papers, besides acting as 
Clerk, secretary of the town-meeting, and as clerk of the 
and SUrer ’ township board. The treasurer has charge of the 
assessor township funds, and frequently is also ex officio 
collector of taxes for State and county as well as township 
purposes. Usually all taxes. State as well as local, are as¬ 
sessed by the township assessor; and this officer is also 
required in some commonwealths to take an annual census 
of the inhabitants of his district, and to keep a record of 
births and deaths. All these officers are elected by the voters 
of the township. 

Poor relief is for the most part a county function in the 
Central States, although the townships commonly cooperate 
Overseers in the work. Generally the township trustees act 
01 the poor ex 0 ffi c { 0 as overseers, their duties being mainly 
confined to granting temporary relief or deciding what per¬ 
sons are entitled to admission to the county almshouse. 

Overseers of the highways are generally elected or ap¬ 
pointed from subdivisions of the county known as road 
Overseers of districts. These officers are charged with the 
highways maintenance of the highways, and are account¬ 
able to the township or county board. 

Each township elects from two to five justices of the 
peace, and usually two constables. The justice is both a 
justices of conservator of the peace and a magistrate with 
and con-° limited civil and criminal jurisdiction. The con¬ 
stables stable is the local peace officer, and the minis- 
terial officer of the justices’ court. 

15. The School District. School districts in the Central 
States are local corporations distinct from the township; 
but they generally correspond in area with the township or 
else are subdivisions thereof. In about half of the Central 
States, the voters in each school district hold meetings, sim¬ 
ilar to the New England town-meetings, for the purpose of 
electing school officers and levying taxes for school purposes. 




ROAD-MAKING 

Two views of the same road at Johnson City, Tenn., showing its condition before 

and after macadamizing. 








It 



SPOKANE COUNTY COURTHOUSE, SPOKANE, WASHINGTON 



(By courtesy of Hugh C. Leighton Co., Portland, Me.) 
CUMBERLAND COUNTY COURTHOUSE, PORTLAND, MAINE 





















RURAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT 


11 


The officers or trustees in charge of district schools are gen¬ 
erally three in number, elected for terms varying from one 
to four years. Where there are no school-meetings of the 
voters, these officers have full control; while in States having 
such meetings, the trustees carry out the policies adopted, 
and manage the details of school affairs. 

16. The County Board in the Central States. The impor¬ 
tance of the county, as we have seen, is greater in those 
States which have the county-township plan of Pennsyl¬ 
vania, less in those which have the New York plan. Under 
the Pennsylvania plan, general control over county affairs 
is vested in a board of three commissioners, elected by the 
voters of the county. 1 Under the New York plan, the larger 
county board is composed of the township supervisors. 2 
The authority of the county board varies, being greater in 
those commonwealths having the Pennsylvania plan, and 
less in those wdiere the New York system prevails. But in 
all the Central States it possesses considerable powers. The 
most important may be grouped under five heads. 

(1) The erection and maintenance of public works, such 
as the courthouse, jail, and other county buildings, the con¬ 
struction of bridges, and some control over highways. 

(2) Poor relief, including the issuing of warrants for ex¬ 
penses incurred by local overseers, employment of a county 
physician and a superintendent of the poor, and mainte¬ 
nance of a poor-farm. 

( 3 ) The administration of finance and taxation, including 
the audit of accounts of county officers, levy of county taxes, 
and equalization of township assessments. 

(4) A limited degree of supervision over elective county 
officers, such as approval of their bonds and examination of 
their accounts. 

(5) Certain duties in regard to elections, including the 

* The commissioner plan prevails in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Delaware, Maryland, Indiana, 
Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, and Nebraska. 

2 The supervisor plan prevails in New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Wisconsin, and 
throughout the greater part of Illinois. 


12 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


establishment of polling-places, issuing of ballots, and can¬ 
vass of election returns. 

17. The County’s Judicial Officers. In many States, each 
county elects a judge, often called a probate judge, who has 
County and original and exclusive jurisdiction in matters of 
chosen" probate, administration, and guardianship. Pre¬ 
judges quently the voters of the county elect judges for 
a court of general jurisdiction; but generally judges of these 
courts are chosen from districts which include several coun¬ 
ties. 

The chief executive officer of the county court is the 
sheriff, who is also the general conservator of law and order 
The within the county. In case of need, the sheriff has 

sheriff the right to call upon citizens to aid him in enforc¬ 
ing the law (that is, may summon the 'posse comitatus ); or 
if the emergency warrants, he may ask the governor to send 
the State militia to the county. The sheriff is chosen by the 
voters, commonly for a term of two years. 

The prosecuting attorney is the officer elected to conduct 
criminal prosecutions, also to represent the county in civil 

Prosecuting su ^ s » an d general to act as its legal adviser, 
attorney and Another elective official is the coroner, who with 
the aid of a jury investigates the cause of mysteri¬ 
ous or violent deaths. 

18. Financial and other County Officers. The treasurer is 
custodian of the county funds, and generally ex officio col¬ 
lector of county and State taxes. The money thus 
collected is placed in different funds, as the gen¬ 
eral fund, school fund, and so forth. The treasurer is com¬ 
monly elected by the voters. Two years is the usual term, 
and the State constitution frequently provides that no per¬ 
son shall serve for more than four years in succession. 

The most important administrative officer is the county 
county clerk, or auditor as he is known in some States, 

clerk He is secretary of the county board and custo¬ 

dian of all records; and he acts as a check upon 


Treasurer 


RURAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT 


13 


the county treasurer, keeping an account of all receipts and 
expenditures, and countersigning warrants drawn upon the 
treasurer. In several commonwealths he also acts as clerk 
of the courts, while elsewhere a special officer is chosen for 
this duty. 

Taxes are generally assessed by precinct or township 
officers and equalized by some county authority; but a 
county assessor is elected in a number of States. 1 

. Other 

Other county officers are the recorder or register county 
of deeds; the clerk of the district or circuit court; otticers 
the county land surveyor; county boards of health; and (in 
some States) a county superintendent of schools, who is 
entrusted with the general oversight of the county school 
system. 

19. Local Government in the Western States. In the 

States of the Far West as in the South, the county is the all- 
important unit of local government. Western The 
county officers correspond in general to those of Western 
the Central States. The county boards usually county 
consist of three commissioners, who have general adminis¬ 
trative authority, including power to establish school and 
road districts. 

Within the county’s subdivisions — generally called pre¬ 
cincts, one or more justices of the peace and constables are 
chosen by the voters. Owing to the sparse and Minor 
scattered population throughout most of this re- aieas 
gion, these areas perform few functions as compared with the 
townships of the Central States. 


GENERAL REFERENCES 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xxix. 

- Readings in American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xxix. 

Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth (1908), 1 , chs. xlviii-xlix. 
Fairlie, John A., Local Government in Counties, Towns, and Villages (1906), 
chs. i-xvi. 

1 Including Missouri, Washington, California, Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming, and 
the Dakotas. 



14 GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 

Fiske, John, Civil Government in the United States (1904), chs. ii-iv. 

Hart, A. B., Actual Government (1903), ch. x. 

Howard, G. E., An Introduction to the Local Constitutional History of the 
United States (1889). 

Munro, William B., The Government of the United States (1920), pp. 546-571. 
Porter, Kirk H., County and Township Government in the United States 
(1922). 


QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

(Questions 1-7 are for pupils in all sections.) 

1. Illustrate the dual character of local governments: (a) by giving ex¬ 
amples of public or governmental services which they perform; (b) by 
citing examples of local affairs entrusted to their control. (Section 2.) 

2. Which of the three systems of local government named in Section 3 
prevails in your State? 

3. How many counties are there in your State? Name the five counties 
having the largest population at the last census. 

4. Visit your courthouse and other county buildings, note the uses to 
which they are put, and report upon any facts thus learned. 

5. Prepare an outline showing all the functions performed (a) by your 
town or township; (b) by your county. 

6. How many members compose your county board? How are they 
chosen, and for what term? Describe their powers. 

7. Give the method of selection, term, and duties of each of your county 
officers. 


(Questions 8-11 are for pupils living in New England.) 

8. How many towns in your State? What is the population of the largest? 
Of the smallest? 

9. Organize the class into a town-meeting, and discuss live local questions 
in accordance with articles in a warrant. 

10. Describe the board of selectmen of your town, giving their names, 
term, and functions. 

11. Give the same facts concerning the other executive officers of your 
town. 

(Questions 12-15 are for pupils living in the Central and Western States.) 

12. How many townships in your county? Name them. 

13. Does the system of local government in your State belong to the 
county-precinct type, or to the township-county type? (Section 11.) 

14. If there is a township board, give the number of members, term, and 
functions. 

15. Give the names, term, and functions of other township officers. 


CHAPTER II 

THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES 


20. Definition of City. If we analyze our conception of 
the term city, we shall find that it includes at least three 
essential elements: (1) a considerable number of people, who 
( 2 ) occupy a definite and compact territory, and ( 3 ) possess 
a local government organized with especial reference to their 
social and economic condition. Hence a city may be defined 
as “ a populous community inhabiting a definite, compactly 
built locality, and having an organized public authority.” 1 

Like rural local governments, the city has a dual character, 

being an agent of the State government as well as an organ 

for the satisfaction of local needs. Thus in its _ , 

. . Dual 

public or governmental character the municipal character 
corporation represents the State, which entrusts it 01 the city 
with the performance in a particular locality of certain gov¬ 
ernmental functions — such as local taxation, the adminis¬ 
tration of justice and of the schools, the control of elections 
and of the public health, and the support of the poor. On the 
other hand, in its private or proprietary character the muni¬ 
cipality is an organ for the satisfaction of local needs, such 
as the construction of sewers, paving, cleaning, and lighting 
of streets, supplying water, administration of parks, regula¬ 
tion of municipal transportation — matters which interest 
the commonwealth only indirectly, but which are of vital 
local concern. 

21. Origin of Cities. Economic causes create cities and 
make urban life possible. So long as agriculture is Economic 
the sole occupation of a people, cities cannot de- basls 
velop, since this industry necessitates a scattered population. 

1 Fairlie, John A., Municipal Administration, vn. 


16 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Economic) 

factors 


But with the creation of a surplus food-supply, men develop 
other and higher wants than the mere subsistence wants sat¬ 
isfied by agriculture. Division of labor then occurs, and 
commerce and manufactures arise — industries which tend 
to bring people together in compact communities. Thus the 
existence of cities is the result and sign of a separation of oc¬ 
cupations. It is also an indication of economic progress. 
Countries in the forefront of modern civilization have a 
large urban population, while the contrary is true of more 
backward nations. 

22 . Development of Cities. Just as cities owe their origin 
to the economic fact of a surplus food supply, so to economic 

factors is due the great development of cities in 
modern times. Three of the most important are: 
( 1 ) the industrial revolution, inaugurating the factory sys¬ 
tem of modern industry with its irresistible tendency to 
mass population in large centers; ( 2 ) extensive improve¬ 
ments in agriculture, displacing rural laborers, who seek 
employment in the cities; (3) a marvelous development of 
transportation which has made possible an unprecedented 
interchange of products. 

In the United States the growth in urban population has 
been most striking. In 1790 about 3£ per cent of the people 
urban pop- lived in cities; at the present time about 51 per 
the United cent * In 1790 there were six cities with over 8000 
states population; in 1920 there were 68 cities with a 
population of 100,000 or more. From 1790 to 1820, the total 
population of the United States increased from 3,929,214 
to 105,710,620; the urban population from 131,472 to more 
than 54,000,000. 

23 . Problems confronting our Cities. Many serious prob¬ 
lems have resulted from this wonderful growth of our cities. 

The educa- F * rst > there is the question of providing school 
tionai prob- accommodations for the rapidly increasing num¬ 
ber of city children. In our large industrial cities, 
the problem of education is rendered more difficult by the 


THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES 


17 


arrival each year of thousands of illiterate immigrants, 
whose children must be transformed through the public 
school system into intelligent and loyal American citizens. 

Then, especially in larger cities, there is a serious housing 
problem. In great centers of population like New York and 
Philadelphia, a thousand people sometimes dwell Tenements 
in a single city block, and there are hundreds of 
families each living in a single room. This conges- health 
tion of population in the tenements invites disease, and 
is a constant menace to the health and morals of the entire 
city. Hence the question of regulating tenements, and 
indeed the whole problem of protecting the city’s health, 
becomes a matter of vital public concern. 

Another difficult municipal question is that of transpor¬ 
tation. Our rapidly growing cities require enlarged Transpor- 
transportation facilities, in order that the thou- tation 
sands of toilers may be able to reach their work with the 
least possible loss of time. 

Other difficulties arise from the rapid growth of cities to 
a size not anticipated when the city was founded. The 
lack of adequate provision for parks and public Rebuilding 
squares, the failure to provide wide business ^ clty 
streets and boulevards, and to reserve land for public build¬ 
ings, often necessitates reconstructing certain portions of 
the city at an enormous public expense. 

24 . Our Most Serious Municipal Problem. The solution 

of these, and many other municipal problems, is complicated 

by the fact that city residents are not acquainted indifference 

with one another, as in the country. Even candi- of citizens 

concerning 

dates for the ward offices are often unknown to citygov- 
the great majority of voters within the ward; and ernment 
too often voters blindly cast a partisan ballot, regardless 
of the merits of the candidates. So numerous are the 
officials, and so complicated the question of responsibil¬ 
ity for results, that voters cannot readily detect extrava¬ 
gance and mismanagement of the city’s business. Hence, 


18 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


although our municipal governments spend more money 
in proportion to population than either the State or national 
governments, city residents often become indifferent con¬ 
cerning the management of public affairs. Frequently they 
permit professional politicians to run the government of 
the city to please themselves. 

25. Incorporation and Charters. Like counties and 
townships, cities receive their right of self-government 

from the State. This is granted in the form of a 

Cities con- . , . . 

trolled by charter, defining the city’s rights and powers. On 

the state receiving its charter, the city is said to be incor¬ 

porated; that is, it has become a municipal corporation. 

Frequently the State legislature passes new laws changing 
the terms of this charter, often without regard to the 

. . . wishes of the people of the city. This interference 
ference in on the part of the State legislature tends to destroy 
city allairs j oca j self-government, and is one of the chief 

obstacles to municipal progress. Hence a majority of the 
State constitutions now prohibit the legislature from passing 
laws which apply to a single city; in other words, all laws 
concerning cities must be general, and apply to all cities in 
the State. 

Several States 1 have gone still farther in endeavor- 
Home rale ing assure self-government to their cities, 
lor cities These commonwealths permit cities to frame 
and amend their own charters, providing these are not 
inconsistent with the general laws of the State. 

26. Two Important Types of City Government. There is 
great diversity in the organization of city governments in 
Council- different parts of the United States, and even 
commission cities in the same State often have very different 
plans plans of government. But in general there are 
two distinct types of city government in the United 
States: (1) The council-mayor system, the plan which still 


1 Including California, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, Okla¬ 
homa, and Washington. 


THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES 


19 


prevails in a majority of our cities. ( 2 ) The commission 
plan, of more recent origin, which is rapidly growing in 
public favor (Sec. 38). 

27 . Three Departments Under the Council-Mayor Sys¬ 
tem. Under this plan, the form of government in our cities 
is in general like that of the States and of the Legislative, 
nation. There is a legislative department, the Unjudicial 
city council; an executive department, consist- branches 
ing of the mayor and the administrative officers; and a 
judicial department, comprising the municipal and police 
courts. 

28 . Organization of the Council. In three fourths of the 
cities of the United States, the council is a single-chamber 
body. This is the prevailing type for the smaller dumber of 
cities as well as for a majority of the larger ones. chambera 
Most of the latter have at one time or another tried the 
double-chamber council; but many have returned to the 
plan of a single chamber. 

Where the council consists of a single chamber, it is ordi¬ 
narily composed of one member from each ward or district 
into which the city is divided; but in some cities Election 
councilmen are chosen by general ticket . 1 Where of member ® 
the double-chamber system prevails, the upper house or 
board of aldermen is often chosen at large, or from districts 
embracing several wards. The size of the council varies 
greatly, averaging from twenty to thirty members in the 
larger municipalities, and from five to fifteen in the smaller 
ones. 

The universal qualification for councilmen is, that they 
must be voters of the city in which they live; and generally 
they are required to be residents of the ward for Q Uallflca _ 
which they are chosen. The negative qualifica- tions, term, 
tion is often added that members shall not hold and salary 
any other public office. The term varies from one to four 
years, two years being perhaps more general. Where the 

1 That ia, by the voters of the entire city. 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


20 

term is two years, half the members are often chosen an¬ 
nually. Councilmen are usually unpaid in the smaller cities, 
but in many of the larger ones receive salaries ranging from 
$300 to $2000. 

29 . The CounciPs Police Power. The most important 
powers of municipal councils are those which may be classed 
under the head of the police power, by which is meant the 
power of government to enact such laws as are necessary to 
the health, comfort, and protection of society. The police 
power of the State government is a general power limited 
only by the restrictions of the State and the national con¬ 
stitution; and each commonwealth delegates to the cities 
within its borders a portion of this power — generally includ¬ 
ing the right to pass ordinances for the promotion of the 
public health, security, and comfort, and for the protection 
of the public morals. 

30 . Financial Powers of the Council. One of the most im¬ 
portant powers granted to city councils is that of levying 

taxes to defray expenses incurred in the perform- 
Taction . , . ^ 

ance of municipal functions. The legislatures or¬ 
dinarily confer this power subject to important limitations 
as to the purpose and rate of the tax. Thus the tax must be 
for a public purpose, and one which is authorized directly or 
impliedly by the terms of the municipal charter; and it is 
commonly provided that the rate shall not exceed a certain 
number of mills on each dollar of valuation of taxable prop¬ 
erty. The form of tax most largely relied upon for munici¬ 
pal revenues is the general property tax, the levy for city 
purposes being ordinarily collected along with the county 
and State taxes. 

To defray the expense incurred in making certain local 
improvements, such as street-paving and sewer construc- 
Speciai tion, if is customary to levy upon the abutting 
assessments property owners special assessments upon the 

theory that they receive a special benefit from the improve¬ 
ment in question. Thus in most cities when a street is 



{By courtesy of (he Noel Construction Company ) 


THE CITY HALL AT CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 





A TYPICAL NEW ENGLAND TOWN HALL 
At Needham, Mass. 






























BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY 

There are 28 Branch Libraries and Reading Rooms. The Library gives free lecture 
courses with special regard to the aesthetic development of cities, and'cooperates 
with the colleges in their University Extension Courses, and with the schools, loan¬ 
ing pictures, as well as books, to teachers for use in their work. 



(By courtesy of the Superintendent of Schools. Pittsburgh > 

THE SCHENLEY HIGH SCHOOL, PITTSBURGH, PA. 

































THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES 


21 


Licenses 


opened, graded, or paved, the cost is borne mainly by the 
abutting property-owners (upon whose initiative such im¬ 
provements are often undertaken). 

Licenses of certain occupations and amusements cof 
stitute another important source of municipal 
revenue. A license may be either a police regu¬ 
lation to prevent some real or threatened evil, or it may 
be a tax upon certain lines of business . 1 

Municipal charters generally contain provisions authoriz¬ 
ing the council to borrow money for public purposes, as for 
street-paving, or construction of waterworks and Borrowing 
lighting-plants. When a city borrows money, power 
municipal bonds are issued which are in effect the promis¬ 
sory notes of the corporation. These bonds are ordinarily in 
denominations of $500 or $1000, for a term varying from 
twenty to fifty years, at four to six per cent interest. They 
are sold to the highest bidder after due notice by publica¬ 
tion. 

31 . Miscellaneous Powers of the Council. Eminent do¬ 
main, or the right to take private property for public 
purposes, is a power commonly delegated by Eminent 
the legislature to municipal corporations. City domaln 
councils generally have power to appropriate private prop¬ 
erty under the following conditions: ( 1 ) the property must 
be for a public use; ( 2 ) notice must be given to the owner.; 
and ( 3 ) the property must be appraised in the manner pre 
scribed by law, and the owner compensated for its appro¬ 
priation. 

Like private corporations, cities may purchase and hold 
property for municipal purposes. Cemeteries, waterworks, 
parks, markets, hospitals, libraries, gas and electric property 
lighting-plants, are forms of property regarded by rigMs 
the courts as belonging to the municipality in its private or 
corporate rather than in its public or governmental capacity. 

t In many cities, proprietors of theaters and other places of amusement, owners of vehicles, 
pawnbrokers, peddlers, and second-hand dealers are required to buy a license. 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


££ 


Municipal councils have implied powers to make such con¬ 
tracts as may be necessary to carry out the purposes for 
Contractual which the corporation was created, and these 
powers contracts may be for a longer term than the life 
of the council making the grant. The most important 
municipal contracts are franchises or grants of exclusive 
privileges to companies organized to furnish transportation, 
lighting, heat, and telephone service. 

32 . Procedure in City Councils. Regular meetings of 
the council are held at stated times, generally weekly or bi- 
Meetings weekly, special meetings being called from time to 
rules, time as needed. Like other legislative bodies, 
municipal councils determine their own rules of 
procedure, and keep a journal of their proceedings. Generally 
they have power to compel members to attend and vote. 

Like Congress and the State legislatures, city councils are 
commonly divided into committees to which proposed legis- 
Committee lation is referred for consideration. Among the 
system important committees are those on ways and 
means, streets and sidewalks, sewers, markets, printing, 
public lighting, transportation, rules and ordinances, and 
municipal bonds. 

The legislation passed by the council ordinarily requires 

three separate readings, and unless the rules are suspended 

these must be at three different regular meetings. 
Ordinances . . # D 0 

Any member of the council may introduce a pro¬ 
posed ordinance, whereupon its title is read and the measure 
referred to the proper committee (this constituting the first 
reading). At a subsequent meeting, if the committee reports 
favorably, the second reading may take place, the ordinance 
being read in full or by title only; and at a third meeting, 
after being read the measure may be voted upon. If 
approved by a majority of the council, it is signed by the pre¬ 
siding officer, and unless the mayor has the veto power, it 
then becomes an ordinance or by-law binding upon all 
persons within the city. Frequently the municipal charter 


THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES 


23 


gives the mayor power to disapprove any ordinance passed 
by the council; and a measure which is vetoed does not be¬ 
come effective unless the council again passes it by a two- 
thirds vote — in some cities by a three-fourths or four-fifths 
vote. 

It is often required that ordinances be published in news¬ 
papers of general circulation within the municipality, sev¬ 
eral publications during consecutive weeks being validity of 
commonly prescribed. To be valid, ordinances ° rdlli ances 
must be authorized by the municipal charter or by a State 
statute; and they must not conflict with any laws of a su¬ 
perior nature, such as a provision of the State constitution 
or statutes, or of the federal constitution, statutes, or 
treaties. 

33. The Mayor. The chief executive officer of the city is 
the mayor, who is generally elected by popular vote. This 
officer is usually chosen for a two-year term in Election, 
the larger cities, but in New England and in the term ’ salary 
smaller municipalities a one-year term is common. The 
mayor receives a salary which varies from a few hundred 
dollars in the smaller municipalities to $15,000 in New York 
City. 

34. Legislative Powers of the Mayor. In the smaller 
municipalities and in a few of the larger ones, the mayor is 
the presiding officer of the council with a casting Relation 
vote in case of a tie. But in a majority of the larger t0 council 
cities, he is not a member of the council and his relation 
to that body more nearly resembles that of the governor to 
the State legislature. He submits to the council annual and 
special messages recommending desirable legislation; and in 
most cases has a limited veto upon ordinances and reso¬ 
lutions passed by that body. 

In many recent charters, the mayor is given the power to 
veto particular items in an appropriation bill while approv¬ 
ing the rest of the measure. Generally he has several days 
(varying in number from three to fourteen) for consideration 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


24 

of legislation; and if he does not sign or veto the ordinance 
within that period it becomes effective without his signature. 

35 . The Mayor’s Administrative Powers. Although in 
nearly all American cities the mayor is in theory the head 
of the administration, the extent of his actual con- 

Under 

council trol varies greatly. In early days his administra- 
government j.* ve p Gwers we re narrowly limited, and in many 

smaller cities he is still little more than a presiding officer of 
the council with a casting vote in case of a tie, or in some 
cases with a qualified veto upon legislation. In these cities 
the subordinate executive officers are generally elected by 
popular vote or appointed by the council. This system 
is virtually council government except as modified by the 
mayor’s veto power. 

In a second class of cities the mayor has considerable 
power over appointments, and generally nominates the 
Divided re- heads of the administrative service subject to con- 
sponsibiiity £ rm ation by the council. But he cannot exercise 
complete control over the administration, since these officers 
cannot be removed except for cause, and even then the 
concurrence of the council is generally necessary. Thus 
responsibility for the administration is divided between the 
mayor and the council so that neither can be held ac¬ 
countable; and this lack of responsibility has made possible 
much of the inefficiency and corruption of city governments. 

Finally, in a third class of cities, especially the larger ones, 
recent charters have given the mayor the power to appoint, 
The respon- without the approval of any other authority, the 
Bible mayor heads of the executive departments; and also the 
right to remove them at his own discretion at any time dur¬ 
ing his term. This type of city government has been called 
the mayor system, since it makes this officer the actual and 
responsible head of the entire municipal administration. 

In all cities the mayor exercises general supervisory 
powers over the municipal departments. The extent of this 
authority varies, being most important in those munici- 


THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES 


25 


palities where the mayor has the power to appoint and to 
remove department heads. In nearly all cities he may at 
least investigate complaints against particular de- General 
partments, make recommendations to the admin- supervisory 
istrative heads, and inspect books and records. In powers 
cities having the board system of municipal administration, 
he is frequently an ex officio member of the various boards. 

The mayor is the chief conservator of the peace for the 
city as is the sheriff for the county, and has similar 
powers with regard to quelling riots and calling ffiicer 9 
upon the governor for the State militia. 

36. Judicial Powers of the Mayor. In nearly all muni¬ 
cipalities the mayor has the powers of a justice of the peace. 
In most of the larger cities the mayor’s court, j us ti C eof 
formerly an important institution, has fallen into the peace 
disuse, the mayor’s judicial powers having been transferred 
to the police judges and judges of the municipal courts. But 
in the smaller cities, and generally in Delaware, Iowa, and 
the Southern States, the mayor still exercises judicial powers. 

37. Administrative Officials. Greater diversity prevails 
in the administrative machinery of American cities than 
in any other feature of municipal organization. 
Ordinarily the larger cities have departments of 

public works, police, fire, health, law, elections, education* 
libraries, parks, finance, and charities and corrections. 

For the selection of administrative officers, many plans are 
in use, including election by the council, appointment by the 

mayor with or without the council’s confirmation, 

** Soloction 

election by popular vote, and appointment by the 

State governor. Appointment by the mayor with ratifica¬ 
tion by the council is the common method, but several recent 
charters give him the exclusive power of appointment. The 
treasurer and the comptroller are generally elected by pop¬ 
ular vote, as are often the police judge, city solicitor, tax 
assessors, members of boards of public works, and of boards 
of education. Appointment by the governor is exceptional. 


26 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Term 


Salary 


but prevails in case of the police and health boards of some 
cities. 

The term of administrative officials varies from one to 
six years, generally being longer in case of members of muni¬ 
cipal boards. For subordinate administrative 
officials, permanence of tenure is secured through 
civil service in Des Moines, Chicago, Milwaukee, New 
Orleans, and all cities in Wisconsin, New York, Massachu¬ 
setts, and Ohio. Elsewhere municipal offices are too often 
regarded as political spoils. 

As a general rule municipal officers receive salaries, espe¬ 
cially in the larger cities. Frequent exceptions to this rule 
are the members of school, library, and park 
boards. If members of a board receive no salary, 
they are expected to devote only a part of their time to 
official duties, the routine work of the department being 
performed by salaried officials. 

38. The Commission Plan. Perhaps the most serious de¬ 
fect in the government of our cities is the absence of direct 
Galveston responsibility for the management of affairs, 
system Executive and administrative functions are dis¬ 
tributed among numerous boards and officials in such a way 
that it is almost impossible to locate responsibility. To 
correct this condition, many cities 1 have recently adopted 
the commission plan of government, which aims to secure 
definite responsibility by centralizing municipal powers in 
the hands of a few men. Thus the Galveston charter en¬ 
trusts the entire city administration to five commissioners 
elected at large for a term of two years, one of whom is 
given the title of mayor-president. Each of the other four 
is placed at the head of one of the departments of muni- 


1 The commission form of government has now been adopted by over five hundred cities. 
Of the 202 cities with over 30,000 population, 80 are governed under this plan. The most 
important cities which have adopted the commission plan are: Birmingham, Ala.; Buffalo 
N.Y.; Los Angeles and Oakland, Cal ; Springfield, Ill.; Des Moines, la.; Wichita and Kan¬ 
sas City, Kas.; Boston (in modified form) and Lynn, Mass.; St. Joseph, Mo.; Jersey City 
and Newaak, N.J.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Memphis, Tenn.; Seattle (in modified form), 
Tacoma, and Spokane, Wash.; New Orleans, La.; and St. Paul, Minn. 


THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES 


27 


cipal administration — namely, finance and revenue, water¬ 
works and sewerage, police and fire protection, streets and 
public property; while the mayor-president exercises a 
general coordinating influence over all four departments. 
The commission acting as a whole is empowered to pass 
municipal ordinances, vote appropriations, award contracts, 
and make important appointments (minor ones being made 
for each department by the commissioner in charge). 

The commission system of government also prevails in 
Des Moines, Iowa, but with important restrictions designed 
to assure popular control. Thus the Des Moines Des Moines 
plan provides for the initiative, referendum, and plan 
recall; establishes a merit system for city employees; and 
requires a popular referendum on all franchise grants. 

The advantages claimed for the commission plan are: — 

(1) Definite location of responsibility resulting from the 
complete centralization of municipal powers. Advantages 

(2) Lessening of civic corruption. ( 3 ) Approximat- and delects 
ing the government of the city to that of a business corpora¬ 
tion in which ample powers are generally entrusted to a small 
board of directors. ( 4 ) Greater promptness and efficiency in 
action owing to the small number of administrative officers. 

Those opposed to the commission plan urge:—(1) It 
is undemocratic and un-American, virtually amounting 
to a receivership for the municipality in which it exists. 

(2) It narrows the educative work of local government by 
decreasing the participation of citizens in public affairs. 

(3) It increases the influence of party organizations by 
enabling them to concentrate their efforts upon the few 
elective commissioners. ( 4 ) It places the appropriating 
and spending power in the same hands. ( 5 ) The absence 
of a local council constitutes an incentive to State inter¬ 
ference in municipal affairs. 

39. The City-Manager Plan. A recent modification of the 
commission form of government is known as the “city- 
manager” plan. This provides for a small elective commis- 


28 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


sion, but the commission does not itself exercise adminis¬ 
trative powers. For the general management of the city’s 
affairs, the commission appoints an expert administrator, 
or city manager. The city-manager plan aims to secure per¬ 
manent, expert service for the city’s administration, in the 
same way that a large corporation selects an expert and 
capable manager for its affairs. It abandons the unscientific 
plan of attempting to select executive experts by popular 
election for short terms. Sumter, South Carolina, w T as the 
pioneer city in adopting the new plan, which now prevails 
in about fifty cites. Dayton, Ohio, and Grand Rapids, Mich¬ 
igan, are two of the larger cities governed under this plan. 

40. Proposed Improvements in Municipal Government. 
As the causes of the misgovernment of cities have become 
better understood, more definiteness has been given the 
plans of those seeking to improve conditions. The chief 
steps now proposed as a means to possible improvement 
may be summarized under the following heads: —• 

(1) The effectual prohibition of special municipal legisla- 
Speciai tion, and the granting to cities of general rather 
legislation than enumerated powers. 

(2) Such a change in municipal organization as will give 

Mayor and the mayor authority over, and responsibility for, 
council the city’s administration; together with an en¬ 

largement of the powers of the council by giving that body 
control of the legislative policy of the city in matters of 
local interest. 

(3) A restriction of the spoils system in city politics 

d V ii through the adoption of some form of municipal 
service civil service. 1 

(4) The separation of municipal from State and national 
Separation elections. In many commonwealths, municipal 
of elections elections are now held at a different time of year 

from other elections, in the hope that candidates for local 


1 Such as prevails in Philadelphia, Chicago, New Orleans, Grand Rapids, Los Angeles, 
and in all cities of New York, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and Ohio. 


THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES 


29 


offices may be chosen on account of individual fitness rather 

than from a partisan standpoint. 

(5) The exercise of the utmost care in granting franchises 

to public service corporations, in order that the people of 

the city may receive an adequate compensation 

^ ^ ^ ^ Franchises 

for the privileges granted. The referendum or 

popular vote on franchises eliminates a great source of 
municipal corruption by placing the ultimate decision con¬ 
cerning franchises in the hands of the people themselves. 

GENERAL REFERENCES 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xxvn. 

Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth (1908), i, ch. l. 

Fairlie, John A., Municipal Administration (1901), chs. xvn—xx. 
Goodnow, Frank J., City Government in the United States (1904), chs. iv-vm. 
Munro, William B., The Government of the United States (1920), pp. 572-601. 


QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1 . What economic causes have contributed to the growth of your city? 

2. How may your city charter be amended? 

8. Point out the dual character of your city government: (a) as an agent 
of the State for the performance of governmental functions; (b) as an 
organ for the satisfaction of local needs. (Section 20.) 

4. Of how many members does your city council consist? Give the quali¬ 
fications, term, and salary of members. 

5. Are the members elected by wards or at large? What are the advan¬ 
tages of each method? 

6. Describe the financial powers of your council under the following heads: 
(a) taxation, (b) appropriations, (c) borrowing power. 

7. When does your council meet? Where? Visit a council meeting and 
write an account of it. 

8. State the following facts concerning your mayor: how elected, term, 
qualifications, salary, how removed. 

9. Has your mayor the veto power? If so, what vote is necessary to pass 
an ordinance over his veto? 

10. What administrative officers does the mayor appoint? Can he remove 
these officers? Is the consent of the council necessary in either case? 

11. What degree of control does your mayor exercise over the city admin¬ 
istration? Which of the three types of mayors, described in Section 35, 
does he resemble? 

12. Make a list of the various boards and commissions in your city govern¬ 
ment. How is each chosen? Number of members, terms, and duties? 

13. What is your city tax rate? Compare with the rates for the last ten 
years, and prepare a chart showing fluctuations in rates, by years. 

14. What is the gross debt of your city? Is there a sinking fund? What is 
the net debt? How is this debt to be paid? 


i 


CHAPTER III 


THE WORK DONE BY CITY GOVERNMENTS 


41. Control of Police Administration. Control of the 
police force in our cities is vested either in a single commis- 
Commis- sioner or in a police board. The single commis- 
boar? and sioner system prevails in most of the smaller 
systems municipalities of the United States, as well as in 
such large cities as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Bos¬ 
ton, Detroit, Minneapolis, and Syracuse. The board sys¬ 
tem formerly prevailed in nearly all the large cities, and 
is still not uncommon. 

To aid in securing men who are qualified mentally and 
morally for their responsible office, the civil service principle 
01vil is applied to the police force in many cities, in- 
service eluding those of Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New 
York, and Ohio. Appointments are based upon the results 
of competitive examinations, and tenure of office is per¬ 
manent, removal occurring only for specific cause and after 
a public hearing. 


42. Protection from Fire. The nature of city building 
renders adequate protection from fire one of the most impor¬ 
tant municipal functions. There is considerable diversity 
in the organization and equipment of fire brigades. Cities 
under 10,000 still depend almost exclusively upon volunteer 
companies; those between 10,000 and 30,000 commonly 
have a small force of regular firemen with a large number 
of call men; while in cities of over 30,000 the entire force 
usually consists of regulars. Nearly all municipalities 
with over 30,000 inhabitants have steam fire-engines, the 
pumps of the waterworks furnishing the necessary pressure. 
In efficiency, equipment, and discipline, American fire 


WORK DONE BY CITY GOVERNMENTS 


31 


departments are far in advance of those of any other 
country. 

43. Control of Public Health. To control those agencies 
which threaten the health of its citizens, nearly every muni¬ 
cipality with over 10,000 population has a locally Municipal 
chosen board of health or health officer; while the health 
larger cities have also a force of sanitary inspec- departments 
tors and assistants. The duties of the municipal health 
department are manifold, but may be classified under three 
general heads: (1) Precautionary or preventive measures, 
including regulation of the sale of food products (to prevent 
unwholesome food or adulterated milk from being offered in 
the market), regulation of offensive trades, control of the 
construction of buildings, of ventilation, of smoke consump¬ 
tion, drainage, plumbing, and special supervision over the 
removal of garbage and waste. (2) Control of cases of 
infectious disease, by requiring physicians to report all such 
cases to the health department, and by insisting upon iso¬ 
lation of dangerous cases in city hospitals, and the employ¬ 
ment of scientific methods of disinfection. (3) Collection 
of vital statistics, or statistics of births, marriages, and 
deaths. 

In the United States, as in all the principal countries, a 
central authority exercises a general supervision over local 
health officials. State boards of health have been state boards 
established in forty-three States, with original ofhealth 
authority in certain matters, as well as supervisory powers 
over local officials. 

44. Public Education. The administration of public 
schools is a most important function of city government, 
and one for which a large portion of municipal Board oi 
revenue is expended. In practically all American educatlon 
cities, the central authority in control of schools is the board 
of education or school board. In some municipalities this 
board is regarded as one of the several departments of the 
municipal government; while in others the board of edu- 


32 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Functions 


cation is a public corporation, separate and distinct from 
the city corporation. 

The size of the school board varies, the common number 
being five, seven, or nine. Popular election is the prevailing 
Size, term, method of filling the position, although in some 
and election c ities the members are chosen by the mayor or 
the council. Election is either by general or district ticket, 
that is, members are either chosen by the city at large or 
else from certain districts or wards. The term ranges from 
two to five years. 

In nearly all cities the board of education purchases school 
sites, erects and maintains school buildings, and furnishes 
necessary supplies, sometimes even providing free 
text-books. Other important functions are the 
employment of a superintendent and teachers, adoption 
of courses of study, and selection of text-books. 

Within recent years free public libraries, one of the most 
important aids to education, have had a wonderful develop- 
PuMic ment. Such libraries are now maintained in 
libraries nearly all cities whose population exceeds 25 , 000 , 
as well as in many smaller ones. Administration of muni¬ 
cipal libraries is generally in charge of a board of trus¬ 
tees chosen by the mayor or council, or elected by the 
people. 

45. Public Recreation. Generous provision for public 
parks is of especial importance in the large cities with their 
congested population; but the need of such areas 
is strongly felt in the smaller ones as well. At the 
present time most cities whose population exceeds 40,000 
have provided a system of public parks, that is, have pur¬ 
chased and set aside tracts of land for public use and recrea¬ 
tion. In some municipalities the parks are connected in a 
chain by means of boulevards or parkways. Provision is 
frequently made for outdoor sports and for well-equipped 
park gymnasiums; and botanical gardens and zoological 
museums are sometimes included. 


Parks 



BOSTON CITY HOSPITAL RELIEF STATION 



(By courtesy of the Tenement House Commission , New York ) 


A TENEMENT HOUSE SECTION IN NEW YORK CITY 








































A STREET-CLEANING SQUAD AT WORK 

In New York, the force of laborers in the street-cleaning department is uniformed; the sweep¬ 
ers wearing white duck suits and helmets, — whence the nickname “white wings’’; the 
men employed on the carts, brown; and the foremen and superintendents, gray. This force 
totals considerably over 5000. The total length of paved streets under their care is about 
2000 miles, and the area in square yards over 30,000,000. The streets are swept and scraped 
for the most part by hand, although machines also are used, especially for flushing and 
sprinkling the roadways. The sidewalks are cared for by the owners of abutting property. 



C<5Urtesy, Knox Automobile Company. 
AN AUTOMOBILE FIRE-ENGINE OF THE LATEST TYPE 




















WORK DONE BY CITY GOVERNMENTS 


33 


Within the last decade there has been a strong movement 
in favor of municipal playgrounds, which afford an im¬ 
portant aid to the physical and moral develop- Public pay¬ 
ment of city children. At the present time about £ rouilds 
two hundred American cities provide public playgrounds, 
many of which are equipped with apparatus for games and 
gymnastics under the charge of competent directors. 

In most cities the management of public parks and play¬ 
grounds is under the control of a small board Admin- 
consisting of from three to five members, either lstratlon 
elected by the voters or appointed by some municipal 
authority. 

46. Charities and Poor Relief. In the New England 
States and in New Jersey, poor relief is a municipal function 
even in the smallest towns. Elsewhere it is a Admin- 
municipal function in a majority of the larger lstratlon 
cities; while in the smaller ones (as in the rural districts 
generally), poor relief is chiefly a county function, although 
the cities often assist in the work. In the municipalities 
which carry on public charities, the authority in general 
charge is either a board of charities (generally unpaid), or 
a single salaried commissioner. 

The chief methods of affording relief are (1) through 
admission to public almshouses and hospitals; (2) outdoor 
relief, especially in the form of medical assistance Methods 
to the sick; (3) municipal grants to private chari- of poor 
table institutions; ( 4 ) the maintenance of public 
employment bureaus through which a systematic effort is 
made to secure employment for able-bodied persons out 
of work; (5) the regulation of tenements so as to minimize 
the evils of the congested residence districts of the large 
cities. 

47. The City Street. The concentration of heavy traffic 

in municipalities makes the question of streets 

1 . Importance 

a most important problem. Then too the social 
importance of the city street can hardly be overestimated, 


34 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


inasmuch as such municipal activities as waterworks, 
sewers, lighting and heating systems, and urban transpor¬ 
tation are absolutely dependent upon the street for their 
operation. These conditions seem to justify the statement 
that “the control of the streets means the control of the 


Street 
plans and 
paving 


city*” 

The street lines of those American cities which have been 
systematically laid out have ordinarily followed the rectan¬ 
gular plan, the streets crossing each other at 
right angles. In some cases this plan has been 
greatly improved by means of diagonal streets 
radiating from the center of the city, together with sub- 
radiations from local centers. 1 The principal materials used 
for street pavements are granite and wooden blocks, bricks, 
asphalt (sheet and blocks), macadam, and gravel. No single 
material is best in all respects, and ordinarily the choice will 
be determined on the basis of economy of construction and 
repair, durability being an important factor. 

48. Street Cleaning and Sewerage Systems. In most 
cities with over 30,000 population, a considerable portion 
of the streets is swept at public expense, and a force of men 
is employed to remove garbage and other refuse. The 
primitive method of removing garbage was to dump it upon 
adjacent land or in a near-by stream. With the rapid in¬ 
crease in urban population, a more scientific disposal of 
waste became imperative, and many cities now employ 
garbage furnaces or cremators. 

Modern sewerage systems date chiefly from the middle 
of the nineteenth century, and at present nearly all cities 
have underground sewers throughout a large part of their 
areas. The aim of modern systems is to remove sewage 
promptly, and dispose of it in such a manner as not to pol¬ 
lute the water, air, or soil. 


1 The best arranged city in America, if not in the world, is Washington, planned by a 
French engineer, L’Enfant, in 1791. The streets range from eighty to one hundred and sixty 
feet in width, and broad transverse avenues intersect the rectangular streets, forming 302 
squares and circles comprising 407 acres of land. 


WORK DONE BY CITY GOVERNMENTS 35 


49. Water Supply. No function is of more vital concern 
to the modern city than that of furnishing its inhabitants 
with an abundant supply of water free from the 
specific germs of disease, and fit in every way for 
domestic and industrial uses. With the concentrationof pop¬ 
ulation, the difficulty of obtaining an adequate water supply 
increases, and the danger of contamination becomes greater. 
The chief sources of supply are the great lakes of the St. 
Lawrence system, flowing rivers, lakes among mountains and 
hills, and artesian wells supplemented by storage reservoirs. 

Water is supplied by the municipality in most of the 
large cities of the United States, as well as in many smaller 
ones. The expense of conducting the water de- Municipal 
partment is not paid out of taxes, but from rates ownerslli P 
or charges levied against users of the water. 

50. Public Lighting. In the United States gas-works and 
electric-lighting plants are generally owned and operated 
by private companies. Twenty-five cities own MunlcIpal 
municipal gas-works as compared with nearly one and private 
thousand private plants; while about 800 cities plants 
own electric-lighting plants as compared with nearly 3000 
plants under private ownership. Most of the municipal 
electric-lighting plants are in the central group of States, 
and generally these are found in the smaller municipalities; 
but a number of important cities including Chicago, Alle¬ 
gheny, Detroit, and Grand Rapids own their plants. 

51. Street Railways. Our first street railways were con¬ 
structed about the middle of the nineteenth century; and 
the striking growth of urban population in the Earl7 

following decades has made the question of ur- and recent 

• • franchises 

ban transportation one of increasing importance. 

From the first, the construction and operation of street 
railways has been in the hands of private companies under 
franchises granted by the city council. Early franchises 
were for long periods, commonly fifty to one hundred years, 1 

1 In a number of cities perpetual franchises were granted. 


36 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


and generally imposed no restrictions upon the company 
except that of paving the street surface between the tracks. 
Gradually cities came to realize that franchises have a mone¬ 
tary value, and that they should be granted only under con¬ 
ditions which will safeguard the interests of the public. 
Recent franchises are often limited to a term of twenty 
years, and provision is sometimes made for payment to the 
city either of a stated sum, or a certain percentage of the 
gross receipts. Other common franchise conditions establish 
a maximum fare (generally three to five cents), provide for 
universal transfers and improvements in the service, and re¬ 
serve to the municipality the right to purchase the system. 

52. The Problem of Municipal Monopolies. Writers on 
economics agree that in industries which are natural mo- 
Reiation nopolies (waterworks, gas and electric lighting- 
naturai° plants, street-railway and telephone systems), 
monopolies permanent competition is impossible; but great 
diversity of opinion prevails as to the public policy that 
should be followed with reference to these undertakings. 
The following courses are open to the municipality in deal¬ 
ing with natural monopolies: — 

(1) The city may authorize a private company to per¬ 
form the service in question by granting a franchise without 
making any effort to safeguard public rights or to secure an 
adequate return for the privileges conferred — a common 
policy in the earlier period of municipal history. 

(2) The municipality may grant franchises to private 
companies under conditions designed to protect the public 
interest. This is now the common plan for street-railway 
and telephone systems, and is often followed in the case 
of lighting-plants. The principles that should govern the 
granting of franchises have been summarized by an eminent 
writer 1 as follows: — 

(a) Reservation to the municipality of power to deter¬ 
mine the charges of public-service corporations. 

1 Rowe, L. S., Problems of City Government, p. 239. 



A VIEW IN CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORK CITY 

The park is over 2i miles long, and over half a mile wide. It covers 843 acres, of 
which 185 are in lakes and reservoirs and 400 in forest, wherein over half a million 
trees and shrubs have been planted. There are 9 miles of roads, of bridle paths, 
and 31 of walks. 



WILLIAM H. SEWARD PARK, NEW YORK CITY 
The Girls’ Playground. The park provides also grounds for the use of boys. 













A PUBLIC BATH FOR BOYS, BOSTON 
On the bank may be seen a part of the park and playgrounds. 



(_By courtesy of the Playground Association of America ) 
FIELD HOUSE AT SOUTH PARK, CHICAGO 


In addition to playgrounds, out-door gymnasiums, and other recreation facilities, 
the Chicago parks provide indoor gymnasiums in which organized work is carried 
on through the winter. The Field Houses contain also assembly rooms and libraries. 





















WORK DONE BY CITY GOVERNMENTS 37 


(b) Public control of capitalization and public supervision 
of corporation accounting. 

(c) Limitation of franchise terms to a period ranging 
from twenty-five to forty years. 

(d) Compensation to the municipality exacted in the 
form of lower charges rather than large financial returns. 

(e) At the expiration of the franchise, the plant at its 
appraised value to revert to the city. 

( 3 ) The city may reserve to itself the ownership of the 
plant, while authorizing private operation. For example, 
the waterworks of Denver are owned by the city but leased 
to a private company; and the same plan is followed in case 
of the Philadelphia gas-plant, and the New York and Bos¬ 
ton subways. 

( 4 ) Municipal ownership and operation of local public 
utilities is urged by many as a remedy for the evils attend¬ 
ant upon our present franchise system. 

53. Arguments for Municipal Ownership. The chief ar¬ 
guments in favor of municipal owmership are: — 

(1) Public ownership eliminates one of the greatest evils 
in municipal government — the corruption of officials by 
private corporations desiring to secure franchises or other 
privileges. On this point Professor Ely says: “Our terrible 
corruption in cities dates from the rise of private corpora¬ 
tions in control of natural monopolies, and when we abolish 
them w r e do away with the chief cause of corruption.” 

(2) Public ownership gives a fuller and more efficient 
service, securing the enlargement and extension of facilities 
as public needs may require. Private companies supply 
only those services which pay, public ownership those which 
are needed. 

(3) Public ownership lowers rates to the community, 
since the public plant does not have to pay dividends on 
watered stock, or maintain a lobby or corruption fund, or 
buy out rival plants, or advertise or solicit business. 

(4) Public ownership secures impartial treatment for all 


38 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


consumers, eliminating secret rebates and other forms of 
discrimination. 

(5) Better treatment of labor is claimed for public own¬ 
ership, as well as the elimination of strikes and lockouts. 

(6) Public ownership aids civil service reform, since it 
necessitates the merit system in municipal administration. 

(7) The spirit of cooperation is promoted and civic inter¬ 
est encouraged, thereby fostering better citizenship. 

(8) Public ownership tends to a diffusion of wealth, 
whereas private ownership of natural monopolies tends to 
concentrate wealth in the hands of a few. 

54. Arguments against Municipal Ownership. The prin¬ 
cipal arguments against municipal ownership are as follows: 

(1) The present corruption and inefficiency of our city 
governments would be greatly increased by enlarging the 
number of positions which would become the spoils of the 
successful political party. 

(2) Public ownership is non-progressive, and would not 
expand facilities as rapidly as private ownership, which se¬ 
cures large investments of capital through the inducement 
of large financial returns. Compare in this respect the state- 
owned railroads of Europe with the private-owmed roads of 
the United States. 

( 3 ) Public ownership would not lower rates, as public 
management is generally less efficient and economical than 
private management. The history of the Philadelphia gas- 
plant under municipal and under private operation is cited 
in proof of this claim. 

( 4 ) Public ownership would increase enormously the 
bonded indebtedness of the municipalities, since the private 
plants would have to be purchased or new municipal plants 
erected. 


GENERAL REFERENCES 

Ashley, Roscoe L., The American Federal State (1903), secs. 497-515. 
Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xxviii. 

- Readings in American Government and Politics (1910), ch.. xxvm. 



WORK DONE BY CITY GOVERNMENTS 39 

Fairlie, John A., Municipal Administration (1901), chs. vm-xii. 

Goodnow, F. J., City Government in the United States (1904), chs. ix-xm. 

Maltbie, Milo Roy, Municipal Functions (1898). 

Munro, William B., The Government of the United States (1920), pp. 602-635. 

Rowe, L. S., Problems of City Government (1908), chs. x-xiv. 

Wilcox, Delos F., The American City (1904). 

Zueblin, Charles A., A Decade of Civic Development (1905). 

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. Describe the organization of the fire department in your city. Cost 
of police and fire protection in your city last year. 

2. Is your municipal health department under the control of a board, or a 
single commissioner? Describe the duties and work of this department. 

3 . How many members on your board of education? Are they chosen 
from wards, districts, or at large? What are their terms? Their 
powers? 

4 . How many school buildings in your city? How are the teachers chosen? 
Does your board provide free text-books? Give arguments for and 
against this plan. 

5. What was the cost of public education in your city last year? What 
per cent of the entire municipal revenues was expended for school 
purposes? 

6. How many pupils were enrolled in your public schools last year? In 
the elementary department? In the high school? How many gradu¬ 
ated from high school last year? What per cent of those who enter the 
first grade complete the high-school course? Why do so large a num¬ 
ber of those who enter school fail to complete the course? 

7 . Does your city have a free public library? What authority controls it? 

8. Describe your public park system, stating what authority is in control, 
and annual cost of maintenance. Name, locate, and give the areas of 
the principal parks. Are they well located and managed? 

9. Does your city maintain public playgrounds for children? 

10. How is poor relief administered in your community? What was the 
cost last year? In what way is poor relief given? 

11. Is the cost of street paving paid out of the general fund, assessed upon 
property-owners, or is a combination of the two methods employed? 
Are your streets well paved? What materials are chiefly employed? 

12. Is your water supply under municipal or private control? If the latter, 
name the authority in charge. How is the cost met? 

13. Are your streets lighted by gas or by electricity? Is the plant under 
public or private control? 

14. Give arguments for and against municipal ownership of waterworks, 
lighting-plants, street railways. 

\ 5 . In awarding a street-railway franchise, should a city aim to secure a 
large financial return from the company, or should compensation to the 
community take the form of lower fares to passengers? Why? 


CHAPTER IV 

STATE CONSTITUTIONS 


55. Early State Constitutions. New Hampshire, South 
Carolina, Virginia, and New Jersey adopted State constitu¬ 
tions before independence was declared; and by 

Adoption 178O a p the States except two had followed their 

example. The two exceptions were Connecticut and Rhode 
Island, whose ancient charters were so liberal that with 
slight changes they served for many years as State constitu¬ 
tions. Of these eleven early constitutions, only that of 
Massachusetts was submitted to popular vote for ratifica¬ 
tion, a practice now almost invariable; but the conventions 
and congresses which framed the others acted in a repre¬ 
sentative capacity. 

The great significance of the Revolutionary constitutions 
lies in the fact that for the first time in history the people 
had ordained written constitutions superior to 
and limiting the government, and alterable only 
by the people themselves. The leading features of these 
constitutions were undoubtedly suggested by the colonial 
charters, which were modified to meet the new conditions 
created by the Revolution. 

56. Parts of the State Constitutions. The early State 
Early con- constitutions ordinarily consisted of two parts: 
stitutions first, the bill of rights, an enumeration of the civil 
and political rights of the individual; and second, an outline 
of the general framework of government, providing for 
executive, legislative, and judicial departments, and pre¬ 
scribing the qualifications for the suffrage. 

In addition to the foregoing, modern constitutions com¬ 
monly contain a large number of miscellaneous provisions 





STATE CONSTITUTIONS 


41 


relating to finance, education, corporations, taxation, and 
public institutions. The method of constitutional amend¬ 
ment is also prescribed; and sometimes a schedule Modem con- 
is added, providing for the method of ratification, stitutlons 
and for the transition from the previous constitution to the 
new one. 

57. Bills of Rights. Seven of the original thirteen States 
inserted in their first constitutions a declaration of the fun¬ 
damental rights of the individual, and their ex¬ 
ample has since been generally followed. These 
declarations are the legitimate successors of such great Eng¬ 
lish bills of rights as Magna Carta (1215), Petition of Right 
(1628), and the Bill of Rights (1688); and they also re¬ 
affirm the principles of the American declarations of rights 
as avowed by the Stamp Act Congress (1765), the first 
Continental Congress (1774), and finally the Declaration 
of Independence (1776). 

The bill of rights commonly affirms the general principles 
of republican government, that all powers are inherent in 
the people and all free government formed by their ^ 
authority; that elections shall be free and equal; 
and that the laws shall not be suspended except by the legis¬ 
lative assembly. Generally the fundamental rights of the 
individual are also asserted — that all men have certain in¬ 
alienable rights, including those of enjoying and defending 
liberty, and acquiring and possessing property. Other im¬ 
portant safeguards against oppression or injustice are often 
added, including guaranties of the right of free speech, trial 
by jury, the free exercise of religious worship, and the right 
peaceably to assemble and petition the government for 
redress of grievances. 

58. Early State Legislatures. The legislature consti¬ 
tuted the most prominent feature of the early State govern¬ 
ment, and its authority was unrestricted except Authority 
by the bill of rights. Notwithstanding this large 

power, the duties of the early legislature were few, since the 


42 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


simple agricultural life of the eighteenth century involved 
few of the problems which confront the modern industrial 
State. 

With the exception of Georgia and Pennsylvania, all 
legislatures consisted of two branches, a lower and an upper 
house, each designed to act as a check upon the 
other. Members of the lower house were every¬ 
where chosen for a term of one year; while in a few common¬ 
wealths the members of the upper house were elected bien¬ 
nially. 


59. The State Executive. Protracted contests with the 
royal governors had inspired the colonists with a profound 

Distrust 0! distrust of executive power; and this feeling is 
executive reflected in numerous provisions of the early con¬ 
stitutions. The short term, the limited authority, 
and the ineligibility of the governor to succeed himself in 
office were intended to prevent any danger of executive 
tyranny. The governor had the military powers formerly 
exercised by his colonial predecessor, but in most States he 
could not veto a bill, or grant a pardon, or make appoint¬ 
ments except to minor military and judicial offices. In 
several commonwealths the governor’s power was further 
restricted by means of an executive council modeled partly 
after the British Privy Council and partly after the colonial 
executive council. In five States the governor was chosen 
by the people, in the others by the legislature. 

60. The Judiciary. The judicial power was vested in 
courts whose judges were either appointed by the executive 

or elected by the legislature. Good behavior was 
the judicial term originally adopted by a majority 
of the States. Of the three departments of government the 
judiciary was least affected by the Revolution. The prin¬ 
cipal change was the separation of legislative and judicial 
functions, the legislatures being deprived of any judicial 
powers formerly exercised. Another reform consisted in de¬ 
fining more accurately the jurisdiction of the various courts. 


Changes 


STATE CONSTITUTIONS 


43 


61 . Checks and Balances. The governmental checks 
and balances which formed a prominent feature of the early 
constitutions have been retained and elaborated separation 
in more recent ones. The most important of these 01 powers 
is the separation of the executive, legislative, and judicial 
powers 1 by the creation of distinct departments for the 
exercise of each power. Upon legislative action there is now 
(although not in early constitutions) the check of the execu¬ 
tive veto; upon the executive and judiciary the legislature 
has a restraint through the power of impeachment; and 
finally, the judiciary constitutes a check upon both legis¬ 
lature and executive, since it may declare legislation uncon¬ 
stitutional, and may restrain executive agents from acts in 
excess of their authority. 

The second great principle included under the term 
“checks and balances” is that of division of powers between 
the State and federal government on the one Division 
hand, and between the State and local govern- of P° wers 
ments on the other. Through this division each government 
is entrusted with those functions which it is best adapted to 
perform, and encroachment by one authority upon another 
is prevented by written constitutions defining the powers of 
each government. 

62 . Development of State Constitutions. Within recent 
years, three important characteristics mark the develop¬ 
ment of State constitutions. First, the tendency Executlve 

to strengthen the executive department. The authority 

• incroAsod 

term of the governor has been lengthened, and in 
every State except North Carolina, he now has a limited 
veto upon legislation. Recent constitutions generally give 
the governor larger powers of appointment, and more con¬ 
trol over the business of administration. 


1 The first elaborate discussion of the principle of separation of governmental powers was 
that of the great French publicist, Montesquieu, whose work L'Esprit des Lois (The Spirit of 
the Laws), was published in 1748. Montesquieu wrote of the British government where 
separation of powers had ceased to exist in fact, Parliament having become the all-powerful 
element of the British government. 


44 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Legislative 

power 

restricted 


The second characteristic is the placing of important 
limitations upon the power of the legislature. The limi¬ 
tations most commonly found are those upon 
special legislation, concerning internal improve¬ 
ments, restricting the amount of indebtedness 
which may be incurred during any one year, and limiting 
the length of the legislative session. 

A third characteristic is the enlarging of the field of 
administrative activity. The agricultural State of the 
Admin eighteenth century has been succeeded by the 

istrative modern industrial State, and the field of gov¬ 

ernmental activity has broadened accordingly. 
Hence recent constitutions include numerous provisions 
concerning the public schools, charitable and reformatory 
institutions, regulating the hours of labor and conditions in 
factories and workshops, protecting the public health, sup¬ 
pressing lotteries and gambling, regulating corporations, and 
providing for the government of municipalities. 

63. Enactment and Amendment of State Constitutions. 
Many of the Revolutionary constitutions were drawn up 
Early by conventions or congresses w r hich constituted 
procedure the temporary form of government; and Massa¬ 
chusetts alone (in 1780 ) adopted the method of procedure 
since commonly observed of electing delegates to a conven¬ 
tion for the express purpose of framing a constitution, and 
afterwards submitting the instrument thus drafted to the 
people for approval. 

The States which have been admitted to the Union since 
1789 have entered it as organized self-governing commu¬ 
nities, with constitutions already formed. When 
Congress decides to admit a territory to state¬ 
hood, it may pass an act empowering its people 
to hold a convention and enact a constitution; or Congress 
may accept and confirm a constitution previously drawn 
up by a territorial convention. 

Three different methods have been evolved whereby 


Admission 
ol new 
States 



THE COLORADO STATE CAPITOL, DENVER 



THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE HOUSE, BOSTON 






























CARNEGIE INSTITUTE, PITTSBURGH 

These buildings, presented to the city by Andrew Carnegie, contain a public library, a museum 
of natural history, an art gallery, and a concert hall. 



THE NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION BUILDING AT ALBANY 

This edifice houses the State Library, and contains the administrative offices of the Departs 
ment of Education, the State Museum, and an auditorium seating one thousand persons,. 






















STATE CONSTITUTIONS 


45 


State constitutions may be amended. (1) About two 
thirds of the States provide for amendment by a consti¬ 
tutional convention composed of delegates elected Methods of 
by the voters. (2) Another general method of amendment 
amendment, found in all States except New Hampshire, 
is through legislative action subsequently ratified by pop¬ 
ular vote. (3) Within the last decade several common¬ 
wealths have adopted a method of amendment entirely in¬ 
dependent of the legislature, through the popular initiative 
and referendum. 

64. Amendment by Constitutional Convention. The 
convention method is universally employed when it is de¬ 
sired to adopt a new constitution to replace the existing one. 
Sometimes the State constitution itself provides for such 
conventions at regular intervals; and in seven common¬ 
wealths, the constitutions require a periodical vote of the 
people (once in seven, ten, sixteen, or twenty years) upon 
the question whether a convention shall be called. Else¬ 
where the initiative is left to the legislature, which may de¬ 
clare by vote or resolution in favor of a convention. After 
notice by publication, a vote of the people is taken on the 
question of calling a convention, and the legislature then 
acts in accordance with the result of the popular vote. If 
the majority has been favorable, the legislature arranges for 
the election of delegates to the convention, ordinarily from 
districts throughout the State; and also fixes the time and 
place for the convention sessions. After the convention has 
completed its work, the common practice is to submit the new 
constitution to the voters for their approval or disapproval. 

65. Amendments proposed by Legislatures. Frequently, 

t 

separate constitutional amendments are adopted which do 

not involve revision of the entire instrument. _ . 

Proposal 

These are usually proposed by the legislature and and 
then submitted to popular vote. In some States 
only a majority vote of the legislature is required for the 
proposal of amendments, but generally a special majority 


46 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


in each house is required, as two thirds or three fourths of 
the members. In several commonwealths amendments can¬ 
not be considered until they have been proposed by two 
successive legislatures. After the amendment is proposed, 
it must be ratified by the voters, special majorities of the 
popular vote being sometimes required. 

66. Amendment through the Initiative and Referendum. 
A third method of amendment, that of the initiative and 
referendum, is found in several commonwealths. For ex¬ 
ample, in Oregon eight per cent of the legal voters may pro¬ 
pose an amendment by petition. The proposal must be sub¬ 
mitted to the voters, and if it receives a majority of all votes 
cast thereon, it becomes a part of the constitution. 

67. Authority of State Constitutions. The constitution 

together with its amendments constitutes the supreme or 
_ fundamental law of the commonwealth, to which 

fundamental all authorities, executive, legislative, and judicial, 

are subordinated. It is to be regarded as an or¬ 
ganic law made by the people themselves acting through 
special conventions; and its high authority is owing to the 
fact that its enactment is a direct exercise of popular sover¬ 
eignty. Hence the constitution overrides all minor State 
laws. Any act contrary to its provisions is null and void, 
and will be so declared if the act is drawn in question in 
a case properly before the court. On the other hand, the 
State constitution and statutes must not conflict with any 
provision of the federal constitution, or with any federal 
statute or treaty authorized under that instrument. If it is 
claimed that such conflict exists, the case may be carried 
for final decision to the Supreme Court of the United 
States. 

GENERAL REFERENCES 


Ashley, R. L., The American Federal Slate (1903), pp. 344-350. 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (19io), pp. 78-98. 

--— Readings in American Government and Politics (1910), ch. v. 

Borgeaud, Charles, Adoption and Amendment of Constitutions in Europe 
and America (1893). 



STATE CONSTITUTIONS 


47 


Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth (1907), i, chs. xxxvn-xxxvm. 
Cleveland, F. A., The Growth of Democracy in the United States (1898), 
ch. v. 

Cooley, Thomas M., Constitutional Limitations (1903), ch. in. 

Dealey, J. Q., Our State Constitutions (1907). 

Hart, A. B., Actual Government (1903), ch. in. 

Jameson, J. A., Constitutional Conventions (4th ed., 1887). 

Landon, Judson S., The Constitutional History and Government of the United 
States (1905), ch. iv. 

McClain, E., Constitutional Law in the United States (1905), ch. ii. 

Munro, William B., The Government of the United States (1920), pp. 404-414. 
Schouler, James, Constitutional Studies (1904), pp. 45-69. 

Thorpe, F. N. Constitutional History of the United States (1901), i, pp. 
166-184. 

- The Federal and State Constitutions (1909). 

Woodburn, James A., The American Republic and its Government (1908), 
pp. 342-348. 


QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. When, by whom, and under what circumstances was the constitution 
of your State made? 

2 . Was it ratified by popular vote? Why should the people vote upon this 
question? 

3. How many constitutions has your State had in all? Has any proposed 
constitution ever been rejected by the voters? 

4. Does the present constitution of your State lack any of the parts named 
in Section 56? 

5. If there is a bill of rights, make a list of the rights enumerated. Com¬ 
pare with those asserted in Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights (1688), 
the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of the United 
States. 

6. Give reasons for the increased number of miscellaneous provisions in¬ 
serted in recent State constitutions. Compare the number and content 
of the miscellaneous provisions in your State constitution with those 
of a recent constitution, e.g., Oklahoma, and also with those of an 
older constitution, e.g., Massachusetts. 

7. How many amendments have been added to your State constitution? 
Make an outline showing in a few words the general subject-matter of 
each amendment. 

8. Compare the amendments of your State constitution with those of the 
constitution of some other State. 

9. Describe in detail the method by which your State constitution may be 
amended, giving (a) the method of proposing amendments, and (b) the 
method of ratification. 

10. Suggested readings on State constitutions: Kaye, P. L., Readings in 
Civil Government , pp. 261-281. 



CHAPTER V 

THE STATE LEGISLATURE 


68. Composition of the Legislature. The State legisla¬ 
ture or general assembly invariably consists of two houses, 
A two- the smaller of which is called the senate, the more 
house tody numerous being styled the house of representa¬ 
tives, or assembly, or house of delegates. The two houses 
have practically equal powers, differing chiefly in the num¬ 
ber of members, in the length of their term, and in certain 
special duties imposed upon each branch. The average 
membership of the senate is about thirty, while the house 
of representatives is generally three or four times as 
large. 

For the purpose of electing members the States are di¬ 
vided into numerous senatorial and house election districts, 
Election the senatorial districts being considerably larger 
districts than the house districts. 1 In many common¬ 
wealths the county is the unit for districting, each county 
electing one or more members to the house, according to its 
population; while several counties are united into a single 
district to elect a senator. 

An objection frequently urged against our method of 
electing legislators is that these officers represent not the 
Minority entire body of voters, but the majority only, 
representa- Various plans of securing minority representation 
have been proposed. One of these is the cumula¬ 
tive vote, which gives each elector as many votes as there are 
places to be filled, and allows him to distribute his votes as 
he pleases. By concentrating their votes upon one candi- 


1 In New England (excepting Massachusetts), each town ordinarily elects one or more 
members of the lower house of the legislature. 


THE STATE LEGISLATURE 49 

date, a large minority in any district is thus assured of rep¬ 
resentation. 1 

69. The Members of the Legislature. Members of the 
legislature are chosen by voters possessing the qualifications 
as to age, citizenship, and residence prescribed by Quaiifioa- 
the State constitution. Several commonwealths Uons 
also have an educational or property qualification. As a 
rule, a person qualified to vote is eligible to membership; 
but holders of public office, State or federal, are generally 
disqualified from sitting in the legislature. In a few com¬ 
monwealths, the age qualification for the Senate is higher 
than that for the house. In all States, either by law or cus¬ 
tom, members must reside in the district from which they 
are elected. 

The term of a senator is generally longer than that of 
a representative, although in nineteen commonwealths it 
is the same. In most of the States, senators are Term and 
elected for four years, while the common term for salary 
representatives is two years. 2 In twenty-four States the 
senate differs from the house in being a continuous body, 
only half of its membership being renewed at one time. 
Senators and representatives receive the same compensa¬ 
tion, either an annual salary or a per diem compensation 
based upon the length of the legislative session. 

70. Organization and Procedure. The time for the 
meeting of the legislature is fixed either by the State con¬ 
stitution or by statute. Annual sessions, formerly Legislative 
the common practice, are now held in only six sesslcms 
States; 3 while elsewhere sessions are biennial. 4 Special 
sessions may be called by the governor if occasion requires, 

1 This is the method followed in Illinois in the election of members of the lower house of 
the legislature. Three representatives are chosen from each district, and the voter may cast 
as many votes for one candidate as there are representatives to be elected, or may distribute 
his votes or equal parts thereof as he sees fit. 

* Massachusetts retains the old practice of annual elections for both senators and repre¬ 
sentatives; New York and New Jersey elect representatives annually. 

8 Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New York, and South Carolina. 

4 Except in Mississippi and Alabama, where the regular meetings are held every four 
years. 


50 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Procedure 


or the legislature itself may adjourn to meet later in special 
session. The length of the session is often restricted to 
forty or sixty days. In case the two houses fail to agree 
upon a time for adjournment, the governor may adjourn 
them. The legislature sits at the State capitol, or State 
house, each branch having its separate chamber. 

The internal organization follows closely that of Con¬ 
gress. Each house chooses its own officers (except that 
the lieutenant-governor is frequently the presiding 
officer of the senate). In each house there is a 
body of standing committees, generally appointed by its 
presiding officer, and a group of party leaders who act as 
a steering committee. Some legislatures, following the pro¬ 
cedure in Congress, have a committee on rules which de¬ 
termines the order in which measures shall be considered* 
Each house determines its own rules of procedure; exercises 
the exclusive right of deciding upon the election and 
qualifications of its members; keeps a journal or record 
of its proceedings; disciplines members for disorderly or 
contemptuous behavior, even to the extent of expelling 
them; 1 and punishes persons guilty of contempt of the 
house or breach of its privileges. The legislature has the 
power to compel the attendance of witnesses and the pro¬ 
duction of papers when necessary to obtain information in 
aid of legislation; or it may appoint committees and in¬ 
vest them with these powers. 

During the sessions, members of the legislature are priv- 
Priviieges ileged from arrest on civil process; and they 
oi members a } so bave the privilege of freedom of speech as to 
utterances made in the discharge of their official duties. 

71. The Enactment of Lav/s. No law can be passed 
except by bill, which may be defined as “a written draft 
introduction of a proposed act of legislation.” A bill may 
of bins originate in either house (except bills for raising 
revenue, which under most constitutions must orginate in 

1 A two-thirds vote is ordinarily required to expel a member. 


THE STATE LEGISLATURE 


51 


the lower branch). Bills may be introduced by any mem¬ 
ber, or by a committee, or by a message from the other 
house. 

Upon introduction the bill is read (usually by title only), 
and referred to the appropriate standing committee. If 
favorably considered by the committee, it is process oi 
printed and reported back to the house with such le e lslation 
amendments as the committee may favor. The bill now 
receives its second reading, being read and debated section 
by section, and may be adopted, rejected, amended, referred 
back to the committee, or referred to the committee of 
the whole for further consideration. 1 If the bill passes upon 
second reading, it is generally referred to the committee on 
revision. It is then engrossed, that is, copied in legislative 
script, after which it is reported back to the house for its 
third reading and final vote. Many constitutions provide 
that on the final vote on every bill, the yeas and nays shall 
be entered upon the journal. This provision is intended 
to fix upon each member his due share of responsibility 
for legislation, and also to furnish conclusive evidence of 
the passage of a bill by the requisite majority. Some con¬ 
stitutions provide that all bills, or all bills on certain sub¬ 
jects, must receive a majority vote of the members elected; 
otherwise, a simple majority of a quorum is sufficient. 2 

After a measure passes one house, the engrossed copy is 
sent to the other house, where the same process is repeated. 
A measure w T hich has passed one house may be joint action 
altered, amended, or rejected by the other; but to necessar 7 
become a law, the same act must pass both houses in the 
same identical form. If the measure is amended, it must 
go back to the originating house. If this body does not 
concur in the amendments, an effort is made to reach an 
agreement through the appointment by each house of mem¬ 
bers of a conference committee. When a bill has passed 

1 The committee of the whole is the entire house acting as a committee. 

* By a quorum is meant the number necessary to transact business — generally a majority 
of the members elected. 


52 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


both houses it is enrolled, then signed in open session by 
the presiding officer of each house, and presented to the 
governor. 

72. The Governor’s Veto. In all commonwealths ex¬ 
cept North Carolina, every bill which has passed both 
Exercise oi branches of the legislature must be submitted to 
veto power ^ e governor for his approval. If he signs the 
measure, it thereby becomes law; if not, he returns it with 
his objections to the house in which it originated, where the 
objections are entered at large upon the journal. Upon re¬ 
consideration the bill may become law notwithstanding the 
veto, provided it receives the votes of a sufficiently large 
majority (ordinarily two thirds of the members in each 
house). The governor generally has a period of ten days 
(excluding Sundays and holidays) in which to veto a meas¬ 
ure. If he does not return the bill with his objections within 
this period, it becomes a law without his signature, unless 
the legislature by adjournment prevents its return. In a 
majority of the States the governor possesses the important 
power of vetoing particular items in an appropriation bill, 
while approving the rest of the measure. Unless otherwise 
provided, an act becomes operative and in force from the 
time of its approval by the governor. 

73. Scope of State Legislative Power. The power of the 
State legislature extends to every subject of legislation, 
unless in the particular instance its exercise is forbidden by 
some provision of the State or federal constitution. Unlike 
Congress, which possesses legislative authority only over 
enumerated classes of subjects, the State legislature posseses 
general powers of legislation. If the question arises whether 
the legislature has power to pass a certain law, the presump¬ 
tion is that it can do so; and some positive prohibition 
either in the federal or State constitution must appear to 
overcome this presumption. 

The possible subjects of State legislation may be classified 
under three heads: — 



NEW YORK STATE CAPITOL AT ALBANY 



OHIO STATE CAPITOL AT COLUMBUS 

































































THE STATE LEGISLATURE 


53 


(1) Ordinary private law, or the body of law which guides 

us in the every-day relations of life, as the law 

• • Private laV 

of contracts, domestic relations, property, torts, 

and crimes. 

(2) Administrative law, or the law relating to the carry 
ing on of government, to the raising and expending of rev¬ 
enues, and to the control of personal and prop- Administra- 
erty rights so as to secure the general welfare. tive law 
This includes legislation concerning local government, pub¬ 
lic works, education, corporations, charitable and penal 
institutions. 

( 3 ) Local and special laws, or laws which apply to less 
than a class of subjects, as measures granting Local and 
franchises to particular corporations, incorporat- s P eciall aws 
ing certain local communities, and the like. 

74. Limitations upon Powers of State Legislatures. Al¬ 
though in theory State legislatures are invested with general 
authority to make laws, in practice their action is checked 
by important limitations. These limitations may be grouped 
under four heads: — 

(1) Those expressly imposed by the national constitu¬ 
tion. 1 

(2) Those implied from provisions of the national con¬ 
stitution, or from the nature of the relation between the 
States and the federal government. For example, the power 
vested in Congress to establish a uniform system of natu¬ 
ralization carries with it an implied prohibition against 
State laws upon this subject. 

(3) Those expressly imposed by the State constitutions. 
Examples of subjects frequently prohibited are: statutes 
inconsistent with democratic principles (favoring any reli¬ 
gious denomination, or granting titles of nobility); statutes 
against public policy (impairing the obligation of contracts, 
permitting lotteries); statutes which are private, local, or 
special in their nature (especially those designed to regulate 

x United States Constitution, Art. 1, Sec. 10; ibid., Amendments xm, xiv. 


54 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


the internal affairs of counties and municipalities); statutes 
increasing the State or local debt beyond a certain amount. 

( 4 ) Those implied from the republican nature of State 
government. For example, there are certain implied limi¬ 
tations upon legislative power as a result of the principle 
that the legislature is to be regarded as a trustee for the peo¬ 
ple. Hence legislative power may not be delegated to any 
other body or person, but must be exercised by the legisla¬ 
ture itself; nor can public property or governmental powers 
(as taxation and police powers) be surrendered to private 
persons. Public money raised by taxation can be appropri¬ 
ated and expended only for public purposes. Nor can the 
legislature pass any law which may not be repealed by a 
subsequent legislature, unless the act take the form of a 
contract founded upon a consideration. 

75. Non-Legislative Duties. Besides their power to make 
laws, the legislatures of some commonwealths are charged 
Electoral with certain non-legislative duties, such as the 
and judicial election of certain State officers. Generally, 
functions j- 00j they may impeach any State official for 

misconduct, the procedure in such cases resembling that 
in Congress. 1 

76. Direct Legislation. By direct legislation is meant 

that in which the people participate directly, instead of 
T he acting through their representatives. The most 

referendum common example is the referendum, by which 
legislative measures are submitted to popular vote for 
approval or rejection. 2 Early in our history it became an 
established principle that proposed constitutions or amend¬ 
ments should be referred to the voters for ratification. The 
referendum has since been employed to determine questions 
of ordinary legislation, as the incorporation of municipali- 


1 See Sec. 214. 

a “ The referendum is a plan whereby a small percentage of the voters may demand that 
any statute passed by the legislature (with the exception of certain laws) must be submitted 
to the electorate and approved by a stipulated majority before going into effect.” — Beard, 
C. A., American Oovernment and Politics, p. 463. 


THE STATE LEGISLATURE 


55 


ties, the organization of counties and townships, location of 
county seats, incurring of indebtedness, granting of muni¬ 
cipal franchises, and issuing of liquor licenses. The refer¬ 
endum affords a valuable check upon the action of State 
legislatures and municipal councils; and it also provides a 
conclusive method of determining whether proposed leg¬ 
islation is approved by public sentiment. 

The logical complement of the referendum is the initia¬ 
tive, by which a certain percentage of the voters are em¬ 
powered to propose measures which must subse- InitlatlV0 
quently, with or without the intervention of the 
legislature, be submitted to popular vote. For example, the 
constitution of Oregon provides that any legislative measure 
may be initiated by a petition bearing the signatures of 
eight per cent of the voters, and containing the proposed 
measure in full. The petition must be filed with the Secre¬ 
tary of State at least four months before election day; and if 
approved by a majority of all those voting upon it at the 
election, the measure becomes a law. 1 Nineteen common¬ 
wealths have authorized the initiative and referendum in 
the case of State laws, and thirteen of these permit the voters 
to initiate constitutional amendments, as well as statutes. 

GENERAL REFERENCES 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xxv. 

- Readings in American Government in Politic (1910), ch. xxv. 

Black, H. C., Constitutional Law (1897), ch. xm. 

Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth (1907), i, chs. xl, xliv, xlv. 
Cleveland, F. A., Growth of Democracy (1898), chs. vm-xv. 

Cooley, Thos. M., Constitutional Limitations (1903), chs. v-vi. 

Hart, A. B., Actual Government (19 3), ch. vn. 

McClain, E., Constitutional Law (1905), chs. v, vm. 

Munro, William B., The Government of the United States (1920), pp. 415-430. 
Oberholtzer, E. P., The Referendum in America (1900). 

Ordronaux, J., Constitutional Legislation (1893), ch. x. 

Reinsch, P. S., American Legislatures and Legislative Methods (1907), 
chs. iv-x. 

Roosevelt, Theodore, American Ideals (1899), no. v. 

Schouler, J., Constitutional Studies (1904), pp. 249-266. 

1 The Oregon statute provides for the publication and distribution of arguments for and 
against the propositions thus submitted to the voters for decision. 



56 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. What is the official name of your State legislature? Of each house? 
How many members in each house? Qualifications for membership? 

2. Give arguments for and against the requirement that a member must 
be a resident of the district which elects him. 

3. Draw an outline map of your State, and mark with different colors the 
boundaries of your State representative and senatorial districts. 

4. Is the division of your State into senatorial and representative districts 
an equitable one? Or has the gerrymander been employed to give one 
party an undue advantage? 

5. Examine the provisions of your State constitution concerning the num¬ 
ber and apportionment of senators and representatives. Under what 
restrictions may the legislature change this apportionment? 

6. For what term are members of your legislature chosen? What salary do 
they receive? Is the senate a continuous body? 

7. Does your district frequently return the same members to the legisla¬ 
ture, or is rotation in office customary? Who are the present members 
from your district? To which political party do they belong? Which 
party has a majority in your legislature? 

8. How often does your legislature meet? Is the length of the session lim¬ 
ited by the constitution? 

9. Name the officers of each legislative house. Principal duties of each? 

10. Discuss the position of the speaker of the lower house, and compare his 
influence upon legislation with that of the lieutenant-governor. 

11. Who are the leaders of the majority party in your legislature? Of the 
minority party? 

12. How many committees in each branch of your legislature? Name the 
most important ones. 

13. Discuss the advantages and defects of the committee system. 

14. Describe the steps by which a bill is enacted into law in your State. 

15. What constitutes a quorum in each house of your legislature? How 
many votes are necessary in each house to pass a bill the first time? 
Over the governor’s veto? 

16. Organize your class into a house of the State legislature, and draw up 
and pass a bill in due form. (If possible obtain the assistance of your 
local representative.) 

17. Make a list of the chief subjects with which your State legislature may 
deal. Compare this with the list of subjects over which a city council 
or town meeting has authority. 

18. Examine the volume of laws passed at the last session of your legis¬ 
lature, and make an outline showing ten different subjects of legislation 
concerning which laws were passed. 

19. What are the special powers of each branch of your State legislature? 

20. Make a list of the most important limitations on legislative powers 
imposed by your State constitution. 

21. What is meant by the “lobby”? 

22. Give reasons for the growing popularity of the initiative and the refer¬ 
endum. (Kaye, P. L., Readings, pp. 295-303.) 


CHAPTER VI 


THE STATE EXECUTIVE 


77. Contrast between State and Federal Executives* 

The organization of the executive department of the State 
government differs materially from that of the Federal 
federal executive. In the national government, pow^cen- 
executive power is vested in a single individual, traiized 
the President of the United States. He alone is an elective 
officer, other executive officials being appointed by and 
responsible to him. 

But in the State governments, executive power is vested 
in a number of elective and appointive officers who, to¬ 
gether with the governor, share the executive e 

D _ bt&16 6X6CU* 

power. The secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, tive powers 
and attorney-general are, like the governor, 
elected by the people; and they are as independent of him as 
is the legislature. In fact they are the governor’s colleagues, 
not his agents or subordinates. Nor is the executive power 
vested solely in the governor and other principal State 
officers; for the actual execution of the laws does not rest 
with them, but with local officers chosen by the towns, coun¬ 
ties, and municipalities. These local officials, including 
sheriffs and other county officers, town and city officials, 
are not ordinarily subject to State supervision, much less to 
immediate State control. They hold themselves account¬ 
able not to the State as a whole, but only to their part of 
the State. Hence State administration is decentralized; 
and the governor is not, like the President, directly and 
exclusively responsible for the execution of the laws. 

78. Election and Term of the Governor. The governor 
is everywhere elected by popular suffrage, the earlier method 


58 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


of choice by the legislature having been discarded. In most 
commonwealths the election for governor and other State 
officials is held on the Tuesday immediately following the 
first Monday in November. The term of office is either two 
or four years in nearly all of the States. Popular governors 
are often reelected in commonwealths having the shorter 
terms, while elsewhere reelection is less frequent. The con¬ 
stitutions of seven States prohibit the governor from serving 
two successive terms. 

79. Qualifications and Salary. The constitutional quali¬ 
fications for governor generally relate to age, residence, and 
citizenship. These qualifications vary widely, those most 
frequently prescribed being thirty years of age, five years 
of residence, and the same period of citizenship. The aver¬ 
age salary of the governor is about $ 5000 . 

80. Administrative Powers and Duties. As his foremost 
administrative duty, the governor is to take care that the 
Duty to en- laws are faithfully executed; but in the perform- 
lorce laws an ce of this comprehensive duty, his power is 
limited by the fact that the execution of the law^s is largely 
entrusted to State and local officials over whom he has slight 
control. “If he is of much force in the government of the 
State, it is because of his strong character. He is a passenger 
on board the ship, which is navigated by a crew which he does 
not select, and over which he has few powers of command.” 1 

However, the governor has a general supervisory power 
over the executive officers of the State; he may investigate 

Supervisory conduct of business and require information 
and appoint- upon subjects relating to the duties of their re- 
ve powers S p ect i ve 0 fg ces< Furthermore, he has the power 

of appointing the less important State officers (confirma¬ 
tion by the Senate being frequently required); and in some 
commonwealths he has a limited power of removal. When 
an elective State office becomes vacant, the governor ap¬ 
points some one to serve until the next election. 

1 Landon, J. S., The Constitutional History and Government of the United States, p. 6S. 


THE STATE EXECUTIVE 


59 


The governor is commander-in-chief of the State mili¬ 
tia, 1 and may call them out to repel invasion, or to suppress 
riots, insurrection, or disorder. The military au- Military 
thority of the governor is invoked by the sheriff powers 
or the mayor when local resistance to the law becomes too 
powerful to be suppressed by the means at his disposal. 

81. Political Duties. More important than the foregoing 
administrative powers are the governor’s political duties, 
especially those in connection with legislation. Legislative 
At the beginning of the session he transmits to power3 
the legislature a message calling attention to measures 
which he deems necessary. If urgent matters demand imme¬ 
diate consideration, he may summon the legislature to meet 
in special session; and he may adjourn that body in case the 
two houses are unable to agree upon a time for adjournment. 
Finally, in all States except North Carolina, the governor 
has a qualified veto upon all legislative acts, and in thirty 
commonwealths he may veto particular items in appropria¬ 
tion bills. Thus the governor exercises a large influence 
upon legislation, since only in exceptional cases is a bill likely 
to pass over his veto. 2 

Almost universally the governor has the power to grant 
pardons and reprieves in case of offenses committed against 
the State. A pardon discharges the individual Reprieves 
from all or some of the consequences of his crime; 311(1 pardons 
while a reprieve suspends execution of the sentence for a 
specified time. In some commonwealths the governor may 
exercise this power only in conjunction with a board of 
pardons. 

82. State Governors under the Federal Constitution. 
The duties of the governor of a State are regulated to some 
extent by the federal constitution. For example, Powers 

a person charged with crime who escapes to an- 3111 dutl0S 
other State must be delivered up, on the requisition of the 

1 Except when in the actual service of the United States. 

* Generally a two-thirds or three-fifths vote is required to pass a bill over the governor’s 
Veto. In Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey, and Indiana, a simple majority is sufficient. 


60 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


governor, to the executive authority of the State from which 
he fled. 1 Again, the United States is bound to protect each 
State against domestic violence upon application from its 
legislature; or if the legislature cannot be convened, at 
the request of the governor. 2 If vacancies occur in either 
branch of Congress, the governor of the State concerned 
issues writs of election to fill the vacancy. If the State legis¬ 
lature so directs, he may make a temporary appointment 
to the United States Senate, until the people fill the vacancy 
by election. 3 

83. Other Principal Executive Officers. Other important 
executive officers are the lieutenant-governor (in thirty- 
six States); the Secretary of State, and the treasurer (in 
all States); the comptroller or auditor, the attorney-general, 
and the superintendent of public instruction (in nearly every 
State). Ordinarily these officers are chosen by the voters 
at the general State election; but in several commonwealths 
certain important executive officers are appointed by the 
governor or elected by the legislature. Their term varies 
from one to four years, frequently being the same as that of 
the governor. 

The principal executive officers are not under the direc¬ 
tion or control of the governor or the legislature. Their 
Relation to duties are prescribed in the State constitution, 
IndYegis- an( l f° r ^ eir official acts they are responsible only 
lature to the people and to the courts. They do not con¬ 

stitute a cabinet responsible to the chief executive as in the 
presidential system of the national government, or a min¬ 
istry responsible to the legislature as in the parliamentary 
system of European governments. 4 

84. The Lieutenant-Governor. The lieutenant-governor 
is generally president of the State senate, with 
a casting vote in case of a tie. He succeeds the 

1 United States Constitution, Art. iv, Sec. 2. 

2 Ibid., Art. iv, Sec. 4. 8 Ibid., Amendment xvn. 

4 Usually, the chief executive officers can be removed only by impeachment. States having 
the recall for all elective State officers, or for all except judges, are: Arizona, California, Colo¬ 
rado, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington. 


Nature 
of office 


THE STATE EXECUTIVE 


61 


governor in case of the latter’s death, resignation, removal, 
or disability. 

85. The Secretary of State. The secretary of State has 
charge of all State records, and of the seal of the common¬ 
wealth by which State documents are authenti- . 
cated. He publishes the laws of the State; regis- clerk” of 
ters the official acts of the governor; certifies the theState 
incorporation of all companies; draws up commissions to 
public officers; takes charge of election returns; and col¬ 
lects and publishes statistics. 

86. State Auditor or Comptroller. The State auditor or 

comptroller is the public accountant charged with super¬ 
vision of the State’s financial business. He exam- _ . . 

Supervision 

ines and passes upon all claims presented against of state 
the commonwealth; and no money can be paid 
out of the treasury except upon a warrant issued by him. 
He prepares for the legislature estimates of revenues and 
expenditures; audits the accounts of all officers charged 
with the collection of revenue; sees to it that such officers 
are under sufficient bond; and enforces payment of moneys 
withheld or uncollected. He keeps a record of all moneys 
paid into the treasury, and of all appropriations and war¬ 
rants; and since his books must tally with those kept by the 
treasurer, his office serves as a check upon the latter. 

87. The State Treasurer. The treasurer receives all 
State funds, for which he issues receipts, and disburses them 
only upon warrants signed by the auditor. At custodian of 
stated intervals he is required to publish state- state funds 
ments of balances, and his books, like those of the auditor, 
are at all times open to inspection. Both treasurer and au¬ 
ditor are often ex officio members of various financial boards. 

88. The Attorney-General. The attorney-general is the 
legal adviser of the governor and other officers, state’s 
and he also represents the commonwealth in all attorne7 
civil and criminal cases to which the State is a party. Es¬ 
pecially is it the duty of this officer, aided by the district 


62 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


prosecuting attorneys or solicitors, to watch over and pro¬ 
tect the constitution of the State from encroachment by 
the government or violation by individuals. The numei' 

ous cases in the courts entitled State ex rel. v. -, or People 

v. -, are the mediums through which the attorney-general 

and prosecuting attorneys attack offenders against the con¬ 
stitution and the laws. These proceedings generally take 
the form of prosecution by indictment for criminal offenses; 
or mandamus to compel the performance of official or other 
public duties; or quo warranto to try the right to exercise a 
public office or franchise; or information or bill in equity to 
vindicate the rights of the State or of the general public. 1 

89. State Superintendent or Commissioner of Schools. 
The superintendent of public instruction, sometimes 
Supervision known as the commissioner of common schools, 
oi education eX ercises a general supervision over the public 

school system. In the commonwealths having State boards 
of education, he is generally an ex officio member of that 
board. 

90. Appointive Officers of State Administration. In 

addition to these elective officers, a large number of ap¬ 
pointive officials are charged with special administrative 
duties. Most of these are appointed by the governor 
(generally with the consent of the senate) for terms vary¬ 
ing from one to four years; and they are ordinarily subject 
to removal by the appointing power. Among the most im¬ 
portant of these officials, some of whom at least are found 
in every commonwealth, may be named: adjutant-general; 
State surveyor; geologist; fire marshal; librarian; factory 
inspector; engineer; tax commissioner; superintendent of 
public printing; commissioner of banking; insurance com¬ 
missioner; superintendent of weights and measures; com¬ 
missioner of immigration; commissioner of agriculture; 
commissioner of mines and forests; food and dairy com- 

1 In this way the great Pullman Company was checked in its growth as a municipal cor¬ 
poration and compelled to sell the town of Pullman. — People v. Pullman Car Co., 175 
III., 125. 




THE STATE EXECUTIVE 63 

missioner; superintendent of public works; superintendent 
of prisons. 

91. State Boards or Commissions. In addition to these 
individual officers, a large share of administrative business is 
entrusted to State boards or commissions. 1 These 

are generally appointed by the governor with the 0omposItlon 
consent of the senate, for terms varying from four to eight 
years. Members are sometimes paid, especially when they 
give a large part of their time to the service; frequently 
they serve without pay, and elect an executive officer who 
receives a salary, and upon whom the greater part of the 
work devolves. The legislature often endows these boards 
with large powers, in the exercise of which they are practi¬ 
cally free from executive control. 

92. Civil Service Reform. Early in the nineteenth cen¬ 
tury the “spoils system” was extensively applied in filling 
State as well as federal offices, these positions The spoils 
being made the reward for successful electioneer- systeni 
ing and wire-pulling. Throughout the greater part of the 
Union the same system is still employed in filling appoint¬ 
ive State offices, and frequently the main issue in political 
campaigns is the question wdiich party shall control the 
patronage. Standards of service have been adopted which 
would not be tolerated in any successful private business. 
Tenure of office is often dependent not upon faithful de¬ 
votion to public duty, but upon compliance with private 
instructions from the “regular organization.” 

To remedy the evils of the spoils system, nine States 2 
have adopted systems of civil service reform similar to that 
employed by the federal government. The object The merit 
of this merit system is threefold: first, to exclude system 
ignorant and incompetent persons who have nothing to 
recommend them save political influence; second, to assure 

1 For example, boards of agriculture, health boards, railway commissions, boards of edu¬ 
cation, examining boards in the professions of law, medicine, etc. 

8 New York, Massachusetts* Wisconsin, Colorado, New Jersey, California, Ohio, Con- 
cecticut, and Illinois. 


64 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


intelligent and competent persons an equal opportunity to 
secure public employment; and third, to make tenure of 
office secure for competent officials. To attain this end, sev¬ 
eral commonwealths have established a system of com¬ 
petitive examinations, practical in character; political and 
religious interrogatives have been prohibited; assessments 
upon office-holders are forbidden; and tenure and promo¬ 
tion are made to depend upon ascertained merit, rather 
than upon political influence. 

GENERAL REFERENCES 

Andrews, James DeWitt, American Law (1900), pp. 477-485. 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xxiv. 

- Readings in American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xxiv. 

Black, H. C., Constitutional Law (1897), pp. 267-279. 

Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth (1907), i, ch. xli. 

Cooley, Thos. M., Constitutional Limitations (7th ed., 1903), pp. 218-222. 
Finley, J. II., and Sanderson, J. F., The American Executive and Executive 
Methods (1908), pp. 1-184. 

Fiske, John, Civil Government (1904), pp. 175-179. 

Goodnow, F. J., Comparative Administrative Law (1893), i, 74-82. 

Hart, A. B., Actual Government (1903), ch. vm. 

James, J. A., and Sanford, A. II., Government in State and Nation (1903), 
ch. hi. 

McClain, E„ Constitutional Law (1905), pp. 197-212. 

Munro, William B., The Government of the United States (1920), pp. 431-444. 
Schouler, James, Constitutional Studies (1904), pp. 267-282. 

Wilson, W., The State (1906), secs. 1174-1208. 

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. Give the term, qualifications, and salary of the governor of your State. 

2. Is the governor of your State reeligible for a succeeding term? If so, is 
reelection customary? 

3. Are candidates for governor in your State nominated at primaries or by 
conventions? When does the State election occur? 

4. Who were the candidates for governor at the last election? What was 
the plurality of the successful candidate? 

5. What officers may your governor appoint? Is the consent of the Senate 
necessary? 

6. What powers of supervision may your governor exercise over State 
officials? Has he power to remove any officials? If so, under what cir¬ 
cumstances? 

7. What vacancies in judicial, county, or State offices may be filled by the 
governor in your State? 

8. Examine the provisions of your State constitution concerning the gov¬ 
ernor’s legislative powers, including his power (a) to convene the legis- 



THE STATE EXECUTIVE 65 

lature in extra session, and to adjourn it under certain conditions; 
(b) to recommend legislation; (c) to veto legislative acts. 

9. How may the governor’s veto be overcome in your State? 

10. May your governor veto items in an appropriation bill? 

11. What power has he over pardons and reprieves? Is the consent of a 
board of pardons or other body required? 

12. Has the governor of your State had occasion to call out the militia 
within recent years? If so, under what circumstances? 

13. In general, would you say that the governor of your State exercises 
large or small powers over legislation and administration? 

14. Secure a copy of a message issued by your governor; of one of his proc¬ 
lamations. What subjects are covered by each? 

15. W T ho would succeed the governor in the event of a vacancy in this office? 

16. In most commonwealths the seven principal executive officers are the 
governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of State, treasurer, auditor 
or comptroller, attorney-general, and superintendent of education. 
Prepare an outline giving the following facts concerning each of these 
officers in your State: how chosen, term, qualifications, salary, duties 
and powers, how removed. 

17. Which of the minor administrative officials mentioned in Section 90 
are found in your State? 

18. Prepare a list of the most important boards and commissions of your 
State. Tell concerning each, how chosen, term, and functions. 

19. “In general. State laws are administered by local officials over whom 
the governor has no control.” — Illustrate by giving examples in the 
government of your own State. State the advantages and disadvan¬ 
tages of this decentralized system of administration. 

20. “In certain fields there is a marked tendency to develop a system of 
supervision over local officials by enlarging the powers of State boards 
of education, charities and corrections, and public health.” — Is this 
true in your State? 

21. State the advantages and defects of State boards or commissions. 


CHAPTER VII 

THE STATE JUDICIARY 


93. Our System of Law. The first great source of our 
body of law is the English common law: the second im- 
state portant source consists of the statutes enacted 
statutes by the State legislatures. Most legislative meas¬ 
ures belong to the branch of administrative law, relating to 
the structure and functions of government; but many 
statutes are passed affecting private law. Such are the 
laws relating to wills and the succession of property, mar¬ 
riage and divorce, corporations, partnerships, and crimes. 
Civil and criminal procedure is commonly regulated by 


Federal 

Constitution 


Federal 

Statutes and Treaties 


State Constitutions 


State Statutes 


Common Law and Equity 


OUR SYSTEM OF LAW 

statute, and a few commonwealths have gone even fur¬ 
ther, and attempted to codify the entire body of common 
law. 

The State constitution is still another source of the law 















THE STATE JUDICIARY 


67 


enforceable in the State courts. Next come the federal 
statutes and treaties; and finally, the source of constitu- 
supreme and controlling authority is the federal 
constitution, with which all other laws must statutes 
accord. 1 

94. System of State Courts. The judicial power of 
each State is to-day vested in a system of courts generally 
comprising three grades: first, inferior courts, or those of 
lowest grade; second, courts of general original jurisdiction; 2 
and third, courts of last resort. 

95. Inferior Courts. Inferior courts include those of 
justices of the peace, and police or other city courts. 
Justices of the peace have original jurisdiction justices’ 
over minor civil cases; for example, where the courts 
amount involved does not exceed a certain small sum (gen¬ 
erally $100), and where the title to real estate is not drawn 
into controversy. In some commonwealths, justices of the 
peace try petty offenses, such as breaches of the peace; 
while in the more serious criminal cases they may cause 
the arrest of persons charged with crime, and if there is 
prima facie evidence of guilt, bind over the accused to await 
the action of the grand jury. 3 

In large cities the civil and criminal jurisdiction of jus¬ 
tices of the peace is ordinarily divided between city and 
two sets of courts: the municipal or city courts, police courts 
which exercise a minor civil jurisdiction; and police or 

1 The English common law (known also as customary or unwritten law) “ is that rule of 
civil conduct which originated in the common wisdom and experience of society, in time be¬ 
came an established custom, and has finally received judicial sanction and affirmance in the 
decision of the courts of last resort.” This law has been interpreted and largely developed 
by the courts, and is evidenced chiefly in their decisions of cases tried before them. 

From the first the American colonists claimed the common law as their birthright, so far as 
it was applicable to their condition; and upon the original foundation of the English common 
law the whole system of American jurisprudence has been built. Except as modified by con¬ 
stitutional or statutory enactments, the English common law, now become the American 
common law through adaptation to our circumstances, state of society, and form of govern¬ 
ment, is to-day in force in the several States. 

s Original jurisdiction is the power to hear or decide a legal controversy, or to administer 
a remedy, in the first instance. Appellate jurisdiction is the power to review the decision 
of some other court. 

3 If the grand jury finds that there is not sufficient evidence against the accused to war¬ 
rant holding him for trial, he is discharged; if the contrary is the case, he is formally charged 
with the crime in an indictment, whereupon he must stand trial. 


68 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


magistrates’ courts, which try petty criminal offenses, and 
make a preliminary investigation in case of felonies or 
serious misdemeanors. 

96. Courts of General Original Jurisdiction. The second 
grade of State courts embraces those of general original 
jurisdiction , 1 civil and criminal, over all suits, actions, and 
judicial proceedings (so far as this jurisdiction is not 
restricted by law). These are the ordinary courts for the 
trial of civil and criminal actions, and in them most of the 
judicial activity of the State is centered. In some common¬ 
wealths, courts of this class have appellate jurisdiction 
from the inferior justices’ or municipal courts. 

97. Courts of Last Resort. The third and highest class 
of State tribunals is the supreme court, known also as the 
Jurisdic- cour t of appeals, or court of errors and appeals, 
tion and The supreme court 2 is the court of last resort in 

which the supreme judicial authority of the State 
is vested. This court usually sits at the State capitol. The 
number of judges ranges from three to nine, whereas a court 
of the first or second grade is ordinarily presided over by a 
single justice or judge. As a rule the principal business of 
the supreme court is to review the decisions of courts of the 
first and second grade in cases carried up on appeal or writ 
of error, and to determine whether the judgment of the 
lower court is to be sustained or reversed. Its decisions are 
final and binding upon all persons within the State; but 
in exceptional classes of cases (where a federal law, treaty, 
or the federal constitution is involved), its decisions may be 
reviewed by the Supreme Court of the United States. 

98. Special State Courts. In order to lighten the work 
of the court of last resort, several commonwealths, includ¬ 
ing Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and Missouri, 


1 In different States this tribunal is known by different names, as the circuit court, district 
court, superior court, court of common pleas, etc. 

2 In several States, including New York, New Jersey, and Kentucky, the so-called su¬ 
preme court is not supreme in fact, since above the supreme court is a court of appeals to 
which certain cases may be taken. The latter is therefore the actual supreme court. 


THE STATE JUDICIARY 


69 


have established between the courts of the second grade and 
the supreme court an intermediate court of appeals. This 
tribunal has appellate jurisdiction only, and its de- ^g^^ 
cisions are final in all except certain classes of cases, ate courts 
which may be carried up to the supreme court. 01 appeal 

Most of the States have provided special courts (gener¬ 
ally one for each county), variously called pro- Probateor 
bate courts, surrogates’ courts, orphans’ courts, surrogates’ 
or courts in ordinary. These tribunals are vested courts 
with jurisdiction over the probate of wills, appointment of 
administrators and guardians, care of the estates of wards, 
and settlement of the estates of decedents. 

99. Choice of State Judges. Under the first State con¬ 
stitutions, the selection of judges was generally entrusted 
either to the legislature or to the governor; but state 
during the first half of the nineteenth century {^^7 
the choice of judges by popular vote became es- elective 
tablished as the general practice. 1 Supreme court justices 
are now generally elected by the voters of the common¬ 
wealth at large; while circuit, district, and county judges 
are chosen by the voters of the area included within the 
jurisdiction of the court. 

100. Tenure of State Judges. Judges of the supreme 
court have practically a life tenure in only three States, 
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island; while 
elsewhere they are chosen for a fixed term of years, varying 
from two in Vermont to twenty-one in Pennsylvania. The 
average constitutional term is about eight years, but re- 
election is frequent, so that the period of actual service 
is longer. The term of judges of the lower courts generally 
varies with the grade of the court, being especially short 
in case of justices of the peace. Like other commonwealth 

1 Judges are now elected by popular vote in thirty-seven States; by the legislature in fou-r 
(Rhode Island, Vermont, South Carolina, and Virginia); appointed by the governor in six 
(Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Delaware, and New Jersey); while in 
Florida judges of the supreme court are elected by the people, and superior com* judges 
are appointed by the governor. 


70 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


officers, judges may be removed through the process of 
impeachment. 

101. Salary and Qualifications. Nineteen States pay the 
judges of their highest courts more than $ 5000 , the aver¬ 
age saiary being about $ 6000 . Salaries of judges of lower 
courts are considerably less than those of supreme court 
justices. The constitutions of most States provide that 
the salaries of judges may not be increased or diminished 
during their term of office. 

The qualifications required for judges include a minimum 
age of twenty-five to thirty-five years, citizenship for a vary¬ 
ing period of years, and residence within the State or judicial 
district. Comparatively few constitutions require judges to 
be members of the legal profession, although this qualifica¬ 
tion is prescribed by custom except for justices of the peace. 

102. Subordinate Officers of Courts. The subordinate 
officers of State courts are the recording officer or clerk, the 
Clerk executive officer (sheriff or constable), and the 

attorneys. The clerk or prothonotary keeps the 
record of all judicial proceedings, has charge of the seal of 
the court, and issues all writs. This officer is generally 
appointed by the court or elected by popular vote. 

The executive officer of inferior courts is the constable, 
and of the higher State courts, the sheriff. These officers 
Constable are elected by the voters of the township or 
or sheriff county, respectively, and are charged with the 
execution of all orders, judgments, and decrees of their 
respective courts. 

Litigation is ordinarily conducted by men educated in 
the profession of law, known as attorneys. Before being 
admitted to practice, these officers must pass a 
satisfactory bar examination conducted under the 
authority of the supreme court. The government’s cases 
are conducted by the attorney-general (representing the 
commonwealth as a whole), and by prosecuting attorneys 
or solicitors in each county. 


THE STATE JUDICIARY 


71 


103. The Protection of Rights. The jurisdiction of State 
courts extends to all classes of cases, civil and criminal, 1 
except as limited by provisions of the State or private 
federal constitution. The chief purpose for which rights 
State governments exist is the protection of individual 
rights, including personal rights (of life, reputation, per¬ 
sonal liberty, and bodily security); rights of property, or 
the free use and enjoyment of those things justly acquired; 
and contract rights, or the enforcement of legal agreements 
which one person has with another. 

To deprive any person of a right which the law grants 
him is a legal wrong, rendering the offender liable to pros¬ 
ecution in court — “the place where justice is Redress 
legally administered.” Thus the person who suf- of wrongs 
fers a legal wrong has the whole force of government 
at his disposal to secure redress, for the judgment of the 
court will be enforced by the executive authority of the 
State. 

Legal wrongs are of two classes, public and private. 
If a wrong is committed primarily against a private per¬ 
son, it is known as a private wrong or tort; but if Private 
it reaches beyond the individual and affects the wrongs 
community at large, it is a public wrong or crime, and will 
be redressed by government in a criminal proceeding. 2 To 
constitute a private wrong, an action must be wrongful in 
itself, that is, not authorized by law; and it must result 
in actual or legal damage. The person whose rights have 
been invaded by a wrongful and injurious act may bring 
a civil action or suit before the proper court, requesting 
compensation for his injury. 

104. Procedure in Civil Cases. The parties to a civil 
action are the plaintiff and the defendant. The partles 
plaintiff is the party who claims to have sustained 

the injury and who brings the action; and the defendant is 
the one against whom the action is brought. 

* For the criminal jurisdiction of State courts, see chapter vxxi. 


2 See Section 110. 


72 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


The first step is the filing of the plaintiff’s statement of 
the grounds of his suit, this being known as his declaration, 
Pleadings complaint, or petition. The plaintiff must apply 
and issue j - 0 c i er k G f the court for a writ summoning the 
defendant to appear in court and meet the charges made 
against him. This summons is served on the defendant by 
the sheriff or constable. The clerk also issues a summons 
or subpoena to all witnesses whose testimony is desired by 
either party. The defendant then files his reply or answer, 
setting up any defense which he may have to the allegations 
made against him. The plaintiff may reply to this, and the 
defendant may then answer in turn until an issue is reached, 
that is, “some specific point of law or fact affirmed on one 
side and denied on the other.*’ 

As a rule either party in a civil case may demand a trial 
Selection by jury, 1 which generally consists of twelve men. 
oi the jury The me thod of selecting a jury is carefully regu¬ 
lated by law, and by “challenges” either party may secure 
the rejection of objectionable persons. 

After the selection of the jury, the plaintiff’s counsel states 
the nature of the case as set forth in the declaration, and out- 
Evidence bnes the main facts which he expects to prove, 
and The plaintiff’s witnesses are next examined orally, 

the defendant being given an opportunity to 
cross-examine each witness after his direct testimony has 
been given. When the plaintiff’s case has been presented, 
his attorney announces that he “rests.” The defendant’s 
attorney then outlines what he proposes to prove and intro¬ 
duces his evidence, at the close of which the plaintiff has an 
opportunity to introduce rebutting testimony. Only that evi¬ 
dence is admissible which, in the opinion of the judge, is ma¬ 
terial and relevant to the case. When the testimonv is closed, 
the cause is argued to the court and jury by the counsel for 
each side, the plaintiff’s counsel opening and closing. 

1 In equity cases there is ordinarily no jury, and any civil case may be tried without a 
jury if both parties consent. 


THE STATE JUDICIARY 


73 


Throughout the trial the judge decides what evidence 
may properly be presented to the jury, and after the closing 
argument, it is his duty to instruct them on the _ .. 

. . ~ . Duties of 

points of law involved in the case. Either party Judge and 
may move for particular instructions, the grant- lury 
ing or refusing of which by the court, if erroneous, may be 
taken advantage of by a bill of exceptions. After receiving 
their instructions, the jury retire for deliberation under 
charge of an officer of the court. Ordinarily their verdict 
must be unanimous; and if agreement is found impossible, 
they may be discharged by the judge, the cause then remain¬ 
ing for trial as if none had taken place. If they are able to 
agree, a verdict is rendered for the plaintiff or defendant; 
and after the verdict has been accepted by the court, judg¬ 
ment is rendered accordingly. If no appeal is taken from 
this judgment, it is enforced, if against the defendant, by 
a process called execution, which is an order of the court 
directing the sheriff (or constable) to see that the judgment 
is satisfied. Legal judgments are generally directed against 
the defendant’s property, which will be seized and sold un¬ 
less the plaintiff be paid the damages or compensation in 
money awarded to him. Judgments in equity are ordinarily 
directed against the person of the defendant, directing him 
to do or refrain from doing some particular thing. 

The decision of the court is not always accepted as final. 
Under certain conditions the judge who tried the Appeal or 
case will grant a new trial; or the dissatisfied party wrlt of error 
may carry the case up to the next higher court, either by 
appeal or writ of error. 

105. Adjudging Legislative Acts Unconstitutional. In 
addition to the functions ordinarily performed by courts 
in all countries, American tribunals stand prac- Unique 
tically alone in the possession of a power which has American 
greatly enhanced their dignity and importance. J udlciar y 
The American judiciary is the final and authoritative in¬ 
terpreter of the constitution. In every commonwealth the 


74 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


written constitution is the supreme and fundamental law 
to which all legislative acts must conform. The statute is 
the expressed will of the legislature; but the constitution 
is the expressed will of the people, and is therefore of higher 
legal authority. In their State constitution the people have 
limited and defined certain governmental agencies, includ¬ 
ing the legislative, executive, and judicial departments, and 
have formally announced certain fundamental principles. 
Hence if the acts of any of these agents are in conflict with 
the will of the people as expressed in the constitution, such 
acts are null and void and may be so declared by the courts. 

An act adjudged unconstitutional is null and void — it 
is, in legal contemplation, as inoperative as though it had 
Effect of never been passed. The decision of the court in 

unconstitu- the case is binding only upon the parties to the 
suit; but it establishes a precedent which will be 
followed if the same question is again presented to the court, 
and hence it furnishes a notice to all parties that the statute 
is to be treated as void and of no effect. 

106. Judicial Control of Executive Officials. A second 
important characteristic of the American judiciary is the 
Executive indirect control which it exercises over executive 
amenable officials through its power to pass upon the legal- 
to courts ity of executive acts. Thus if a governor should 
illegally remove an official from office, the latter may bring 
an action against the governor in the proper court; and if 
it be shown that the officer was unlawfully removed, the 
court will reinstate him. Similarly, any citizen who is 
wronged by an executive act may bring suit against the 
offending officer in the ordinary courts, as he would against 
a private citizen. 

American courts use freely their power to issue writs of 
Writs of mandamus in order to compel executive officers 
anTiniuno 3 to acts which it is their plain duty to perform, 
tion providing the act is one ministerial in its nature 

and not involving the exercise of official discretion. They 



THE STATE JUDICIARY 


75 


also issue writs of injunction to prevent officials or private 
individuals from performing illegal acts. 

107. Relation of State to Federal Courts. State and 
federal courts are entirely independent in the exercise of 
their respective powers. Their jurisdiction, gen- concurrent 
erally distinct, in some cases overlaps. Many I 11 * 13 * 110 ** 0 * 
civil cases can be brought at the option of the plaintiff either 
in a State or federal court; or, when brought by the plaintifT 
in the State court, may be removed to the federal court by 
the defendant. 

In any case tried in a State court, if the federal constitu¬ 
tion, or a federal law or treaty is involved, and the decision 
is against the party claiming a right, title, privi- Appeal to 
lege, or immunity under federal law, the case may supreme tateS 
be appealed for final decision to the Supreme Court 
Court of the United States. If the State court upholds the 
federal law, its decision is final. 

108. Interstate Judicial Relations. The courts of the 
different States are entirely independent of each other, 
subject to the limitation contained in the federal Effect of 
constitution that “full faith and credit shall be a^od^ 11 * 3 
given in each State to the public acts, records, cisions 
and judicial proceedings of every other State.” 1 Decisions 
of a State court constitute precedents of binding obliga¬ 
tion only within the boundaries of the particular common¬ 
wealth. The decisions of courts of other commonwealths 
are constantly quoted in legal proceedings, but have no 
authority beyond the intrinsic value of their reasoning and 
conclusions. 

No State court can summon before it witnesses who live 
in another State, since the legal process of the court is not 
effective beyond the boundaries of the common- Depogltions 
wealth. In order to avoid this difficulty, all States 
permit testimony for use in civil cases to be taken outside 
their limits by deposition. 

1 United States Constitution, Art. iv. Sec. 1. 


76 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


GENERAL REFERENCES 

Baldwin, Simeon E., The American Judiciary (1905), chs. vii-vm, x-xi, 

XIV, XXII. 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xxvi. 

-—• Readings in American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xxvi. 

Black, H. C., Constitutional Law (1897), ch. xn. 

Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth (1907), i, ch. xlvii; ii, chs. ci, 
CII. 

Cooley, Thos. M., Constitutional Limitations (1903), ch. vii. 

Hart, A. B., Actual Government (1903), ch. rx. 

McClain, E., Constitutional Law (1905), ch. xxiv. 

Munro, William B., The Government of the United States (1920), pp. 489-500. 

Schouler, James, Constitutional Studies (1904), pp. 283-295. 

Walker, Timothy, American Law (1905), pp. 50-60, 108-117, 566-628. 

Wilson, Woodrow, Constitutional Government in the United States (1908), 
ch. vi. 

-- The State (1906), secs. 1147-1173. 

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. Name the several grades of courts in your State, beginning with the 
lowest. 

2. How many judges constitute the highest court? How are they chosen? 
Give their term of office, qualifications, and salary. 

3. Where and when does the highest court hold its sessions? Name the 
judges. 

4. Do all the judges of the highest court belong to the same political party? 
Has any attempt been made in your State to secure a non-partisan 
judiciary? 

5. Answer questions in 2 concerning judges of the lower courts. 

6. How may a judge be removed from office in your State? 

7. What is the number of the judicial circuit (or district) in which you 
live? What territory does it include? Name the judges. 

8. Is there a court in your State corresponding to the probate court de¬ 
scribed in Section 98? If so, what cases are tried in it? 

9. If you live in a large city, what special courts exist there? 

10. Do you favor appointment or election of judges? Short or long terms? 
Give reasons. 

11. Describe the kind of man who you think would make a good judge. 

12. In what court would you sue a man for a debt of $20? For a debt of 
$2000? In what court would a man accused of murder be tried? A 
man accused of violating a speed ordinance? 

13. What are the advantages and defects of trial by jury? 

14. Visit the courthouse when court is in session, and write a description of 
the court-room and the trial. 

15. Suggested readings on the State judiciary: Kaye, P. L., Readings, pp. 
311-328. 




CHAPTER VIII 

CRIME AND ITS PUNISHMENT 


109. Public Wrongs or Crimes. A crime may be defined 
as an act forbidden by law as injurious to the public, and 
which government prosecutes and punishes in its Treason, 
own name. The legal classification of crimes is an^mls- 
based upon the nature of the punishment, and demeanors 
includes three grades: treason, felonies, and misdemeanors. 
Treason is a crime aimed at the government itself, and con¬ 
sists in levying war against the United States, or adhering 
to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort. Felony includes 
all the more serious crimes punishable either by death or by 
imprisonment in the penitentiary; while misdemeanors are 
offences of a minor nature, punishable by fine or imprison¬ 
ment in the county jail or workhouse. 

no. First Steps in a Criminal Action. The various steps 
in a criminal proceeding are designed to safeguard the 
social welfare, while at the same time protecting warrant and 
the rights and liberty of the individual. As a arrest 
general rule, the person supposed to be an offender is 
arrested in pursuance of a warrant, that is, an order issued 
by a proper magistrate and addressed to an officer directing 
him to arrest the person named. But either an officer or a 
private individual may arrest without warrant under certain 
circumstances; for example, if a crime is being committed in 
view of the person who apprehends the criminal. 

The next step is the examination before a court having 
original jurisdiction over the offense. In case of Examina- 
felonies this is generally a preliminary step to tion 
ascertain whether there is reasonable cause to hold the 
accused to await the action of the grand jury; and if guilt 


78 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


seems probable, or if the accused waives examination, he is 
committed to jail by a mittimus , 1 or released on bail. 2 But 
in case of misdemeanors, magistrates often have summary 
jurisdiction, and at once proceed with the trial, render a 
decision, and assign a penalty. 

hi. Framing a Formal Accusation. Most State constitu¬ 
tions as well as the federal constitution provide that “no 
_ .. . * person shall be held to answer for a capital or 

or present- otherwise infamous crime, unless on a present¬ 
ment or indictment of a grand jury.” The grand 
jury is a body of citizens (usually twenty-three) chosen 
from the people of the county for the purpose of inquiring 
into offenses committed therein. The public prosecutor lays 
before this body the information or complaint, together with 
the evidence in its support. If a majority of the grand jury 
believe the evidence sufficient to warrant putting the ac¬ 
cused person on trial, their foreman indorses on the indict¬ 
ment “a true bill,” whereupon it is returned to the court in 
order that the defendant may be tried. If the evidence does 
not appear sufficient, the accused has a right to discharge, 
but may be subsequently indicted by another grand jury. 
In addition to cases brought before it by the prosecutor, the 
grand jury may inquire into offenses which have come to 
their own notice, and if the evidence warrants, may render 
a presentment or formal accusation, whereupon the court 
generally orders an indictment to be framed. 

In States whose constitutions do not require indictments 
The o r presentments, prosecutions are usually initiated 

information foy means G f an information or written accusation 
presented under oath by the public prosecutor to the court 
having jurisdiction of the offense charged. Both the infor- 

1 If there is reason to suppose that a person has been illegally committed to jail, he is en¬ 
titled to a writ of habeas corpus. This is an order issued by the judge commanding that the 
person held be brought before the court in order that it may be judicially determined whether 
he is legally detained. 

2 Bail is the delivery or bailment of the arrested person to certain sureties, upon their giv¬ 
ing sufficient security for his appearance in court. The amount of the bond varies with the 
enormity of the offense charged. 


CRIME AND ITS PUNISHMENT 


79 


The plea 


mation and the indictment must set forth all the essential 
elements and circumstances of the offense, so that the 
accused may know the nature of the crime, and may be 
prepared to offer evidence in his own defense. In case the 
person against whom the indictment or information is 
found has not been arrested and brought before the court, 
a warrant known as a process is issued for his appre¬ 
hension. 

112. Arraignment and Trial. The next step is arraign¬ 
ment. Before the bar of the court in open session the indict¬ 
ment or information is read to the accused, and 
he is asked to plead guilty or not guilty to the 
accusation. If he stands mute and refuses to answer the 
arraignment, the court will order a plea of not guilty to be 
entered. A plea of guilty amounts to a waiver of the trial, 
and the court may forthwith decree judgment. If the 
accused pleads not guilty, his attorney may under certain 
circumstances object to the jurisdiction of the court, demur, 
offer plea in abatement or in bar; or he may proceed with the 
trial of the issue. 

The trial is the legal investigation of the issues created by 
the prosecution and the plea. Constitutional provisions 
commonly secure the right of the accused: (1) to 0onstltu . 
be admitted to reasonable bail; 1 (2) to have a tionai 
copy of the accusation against him; ( 3 ) to be heard saleguards 
by himself and counsel; ( 4 ) to meet the witnesses face to 
face; (5) to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses 
in his favor; (6) to have a speedy public trial before an 
impartial jury; and ( 7 ) not to be twice placed in jeopardy 
for the same offense. 


The petit jury is a body of twelve citizens legally selected 
from the people of the county, and duly impaneled and 
sworn to try the issue between government and The petit 
the accused. Before the jury is sworn, both the lury 
prosecution and the defense may object to any individ- 

1 Except for capital offenses where the guilt is evident or the presumption great. 


80 


' GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


uals who, for valid reasons, ought not to serve; 1 and a cer¬ 
tain number of peremptory challenges is also allowed. 

When the jury have been sworn, the indictment and plea 
are read to them, and the trial begins. The various steps 
Steps in include the introduction of evidence, the argu- 
tiie trial ments of counsel, the charge of the court, the de¬ 
liberation and verdict of the jury, and the judgment. Two 
of the most important rules of evidence in criminal cases 
are that the accused is always presumed to be innocent until 
he is proved guilty; and that the prosecution must prove 
affirmatively, and beyond a reasonable doubt, every ma¬ 
terial allegation in the indictment. The accused has the 
right to testify in his own behalf, but is protected by con¬ 
stitutional provision from being compelled to do so. In 
criminal cases the verdict of the jury must be unanimous. 
If after due consideration the jury cannot agree upon a ver¬ 
dict, they may be discharged and the accused remanded for 
another trial. If the verdict is an acquittal, the accused is 
immediately discharged; if it is one of conviction, the 
accused may under certain circumstances immediately file a 
motion for a new trial or in arrest of judgment. 

If neither of these motions is made or if, having been made, 
it is overruled, the court proceeds to judgment. This is an 
order directing the kind and measure of punish¬ 
ment to be inflicted on the accused, in conformity 
with the laws prescribing penalties for such offenses. Unless 
stayed by error proceedings or reprieve, or prevented by 
pardon, execution of the judgment follows; and this consists 
in the infliction upon the offender of the punishment im¬ 
posed by the court. 

113. The Punishment of Crime. Fines or imprisonment, 
or both, are the penalties commonly inflicted; 
and these vary greatly in severity throughout 
the Union, even for the same offense. Laws defin- 


Judgment 


Common 

punish¬ 

ments 


1 Any juror who states that he has formed an opinion about the case is incompetent to 
serve, provided he would not be able to try the case fairly on the evidence presented. 


CRIME AND ITS PUNISHMENT 


81 


ing crimes usually prescribe a maximum and minimum pen¬ 
alty, the exact punishment within these limits being left to 
the discretion of the trial judge. Imprisonment is generally 
for a fixed period which may be reduced by good behavior; 
but several commonwealths have adopted the indeterminate 
sentence under which the criminal is not sentenced for a fixed 
term, but only until his conduct shows that he is fit for liberty. 

114. Places of Imprisonment. Places of imprisonment 
comprise lock-ups or police stations, jails, work-houses, 
reformatories, and prisons or penitentiaries. Lock-ups and 
police stations are used for the detention of arrested persons 
pending immediate trial before the proper magistrate. 
Jails are county institutions intended primarily for the de¬ 
tention of persons awaiting trial; but they are often used 
for the punishment of offenders sentenced to a short term 
of imprisonment, notwithstanding this practice in effect 
provides a school for crime. 1 Work-houses are local in¬ 
stitutions used for the punishment of minor offenses; 
reformatories are intermediate prisons for the punishment 
of juvenile offenders; and penitentiaries or prisons are 
provided for the incarceration of convicted felons. 

115. The Treatment of Criminals. The importance of 
classifying criminals with a view to their possible reforma¬ 
tion is now generally recognized; and accordingly Th0 mark- 
prisoners are generally classed as juvenile offend- ^s 878 * 6111 
ers, reformatory cases, and incorrigibles. With the object of 
encouraging industry and good conduct within the prison, 
most penitentiaries have a system of marks and grades, 
promotion from a lower to a higher grade depending upon 
the number of marks earned. Obedience to the orders of 
officers and the rules of the prison, performance of assigned 
tasks, and upright conduct form the basis of the marking 
system; and by good behavior it is possible for the convict 
to shorten materially his term of imprisonment. 

1 Owing to the fact that prisoners of all grades and ages are often placed together with no 
provision for useful employment. 


82 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


116. The Prevention of Crime. Inasmuch as the majority 

of convicts are unskilled laborers, the best organized penal 
Preventive institutions provide trade and technical educa- 
methods tion f or their inmates, with the object of qualify¬ 
ing them for useful employment upon their discharge. In 
many other ways society now aims at the prevention of 
crime instead of relying solely upon repressive measures. 
These preventive methods include careful registration of 
criminals by the Bertillon method; employment bureaus 
to secure work for discharged prisoners; increased efficiency 
of police systems; improved systems of poor relief; checks 
upon the hereditary supply of criminal stock; the removal 
of the social causes of crime (as defective economic condi¬ 
tions); and finally, the improvement and adaptation of 
educational systems, especially by enlarging the facilities 
for trade and technical training. 

117. Treatment of Juvenile Offenders. In recent years 
there has been great progress in the social treatment of 

juvenile offenders, most of whom need training 
rather than punishment. Special provision is now 
made for the care of such cases in industrial and reform 
schools, and in well-organized reformatories. The reform¬ 
atories at Westboro, Massachusetts, Lansing, Michigan, 
and Lancaster, Ohio, are model institutions of their class; 
and excellent results have been obtained by means of the 
industrial and academic education which they supply, 
aided by the principle of the indeterminate sentence. 

The latest development in the treatment of youthful 
offenders is the establishment of special courts for the trial 
of juvenile delinquents, the judges commonly hav¬ 
ing wide discretion over the disposal of such cases. 
Special probation officers are also employed for the super¬ 
vision of delinquent, dependent, and neglected children in the 
numerous cases where institutional treatment does not seem 
expedient. These officers act under the direction of the ju¬ 
venile court in the commonwealths having this institution. 


Reform¬ 

atories 


Juvenile 

courts 



ARMORY OF THE STATE MILITIA 
At Medford, Mass. 



POLICE PROTECTION DURING A STRIKE 

A number of wagons, each guarded by a squad of policemen. The occasion was 

a teamster’s strike in a large city. 






































A LOCK IN THE SAULT STE. MARIE SHIP CANAL 

The canal connects Lake Superior with St. Mary’s River and Lake Huron. It is about three 
miles in length and has two locks. The depth of water is sufficient to allow the passage of 
vessels of about 12,000 tons displacement. 



Courtesy , Commissioner of Bridges. 
A PART OF THE QUEENSBORO BRIDGE, NEW YORK 


This bridge connects Manhattan Borough and Queen’s Borough. 

The total cost of real estate and construction was $17,000,000. The bridge is of the cantilever 
type, with three spans, of which the longest is 1182 feet. The total length of the bridge 
including approaches, is 7449 feet. The bridge carries roadways, trolley tracks, and elevated 
railway tracks. Its clear height above high water is 135 feet. The flag poles on the towers 
»re 406 feet above the river. 














CRIME AND ITS PUNISHMENT 


83 


GENERAL REFERENCES 

Baldwin, Simeon E., Modern Political Institutions (1895), chs. V, ex. 
Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), pp. 568-577. 
Black, H. C., Constitutional Law (1897), ch. xx. 

Dugdale, R. L., The Jukes (1902). 

Ellis, Havelock, The Criminal (1907). 

Hall, A. C., Crime in its Relation to Social Progress (1902). 

Henderson, C. R., Dependent, Defective, and Delinquent Classes (1906), pp. 
215-338. 

McClain, E., Constitutional Law (1905), ch. xlii. 

Wines, F. H., Punishment and Reformation (1895). 

Wright, Carroll D., Practical Sociology (1899), chs. xxi-xxil. 


• QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. Are there any provisions in your State constitution concerning crimes 
or punishment? 

2. What is a felony under the laws of your State? Name several crimes 
which are felonies. 

3. In your community what court has jurisdiction over misdemeanors? 
Over felonies? 

4. Describe the first steps in a criminal action under the laws of your 
commonwealth. 

5. How is the grand jury chosen? Of how many men does it consist? De¬ 
scribe the process of rendering an indictment or presentment. 

6. Describe the remaining steps in a criminal action in your county (ar¬ 
raignment, trial, judgment). 

7. Explain the importance of jury trial to one accused of crime. 

8. What is the method of selecting petit jurors in your county? Can you 
suggest a better method? 

9. Visit the courthouse and observe the steps in a criminal trial. Write 
a report of the proceedings. 

10. Enumerate the safeguards in your State constitution designed to secure 
the rights of accused persons. 

11. Is the principle of the indeterminate sentence applied in your State? 

12. Are persons convicted of a felony permitted to vote in your State? 

13. Give arguments for and against capital punishment. 

14. Classify the various places of imprisonment in your State. What class 
of offenders is sent to each? 

15. What industries are carried on in your State penitentiary? What argu¬ 
ments are urged against prison labor? 

16. Is there a reformatory in your State for youthful offenders? If so, 
write a brief account of it. 

17. W T hat industrial or reform schools are there in your State? Are they 
accomplishing good results? 

18. Is there a juvenile court in your community? If so, describe its work, 
and that of the probation officers. 

19. Prepare a brief report on the treatment of criminals in colonial times. 
(McMaster, History of the American People, i, pp. 93-102.) 


CHAPTER IX 

CONTROL OF ECONOMIC INTERESTS 


118. Economic Functions of Government. An economic 
service or function is one which relates to the material wel¬ 
fare of society, affecting in some way the production, ex¬ 
change, distribution, or consumption of wealth. Thus the 
economic functions of government are directed chiefly 
toward increasing the total amount of wealth produced, 
facilitating its exchange, or providing for its more equitable 
distribution among the various members of society. 

To accomplish these aims, State governments perform 
certain fundamental services without which material prog- 
Economic ress would be impossible, — such as the main- 
oi state 8 * tenance of order, and the protection of individual 
governments freedom, private property, and contract rights. 
These primary services fulfilled, other imperative needs 
arise: the land and other natural resources must be con¬ 
served; labor and capital must be protected and regulated 
in the public interest; agriculture and commerce are to be 
promoted. Hence the most important economic activities 
of State governments appertain chiefly to land, labor, and 
capital — the three great sources of wealth — and to com¬ 
merce, or the exchange of commodities. 

119. Lands. Nearly all of the States at some period in 
their history owned large tracts of land, most of which has 
Public been sold to settlers at a nominal figure, or sac- 
landa rificed to obtain immediate funds for educational 
purposes, or given as bounties to canal and railroad com¬ 
panies. A few commonwealths, notably New York, still 
own considerable forests; several have important State 
reservations — such as Valley Forge in Pennsylvania, and 


CONTROL OF ECONOMIC INTERESTS 


85 


Niagara Falls in New York; while others retain lands for 
use in the operation of commercial or irrigation canals. 
Further, all States own the land occupied by their public 
buildings and institutions. 

Over private lands within its borders each common¬ 
wealth exercises jurisdiction by virtue of its police power 
Such lands are subject to taxation, and also to private 
the exercise of the right of eminent domain; that laMs 
is, appropriation for public purposes upon compensation to 
the owner. The State also has the right of escheat, that 
is, the right to take private lands in the case of persons who 
die leaving no lawful heirs. 

120. Forests, Game, and Fish. Within recent years 
both the State and federal governments have realized the 
necessity of prompt action in order to prevent Exhaustl0I 
entire destruction of the country’s forests. At of timber 
the present rate of cutting, the domestic timber supply 
supply will soon be exhausted; and the destruction of the 
forests so affects the drainage of the earth as greatly to in¬ 
crease the danger of floods and freshets. 

An important step toward a policy of scientific forestry 
was taken by the federal government in 1905 when the na¬ 
tional forest reserves — in area nearly 100,000,000 scientifio 
acres — were transferred from the Interior De- lorestr7 
partment to that of Agriculture. Recently, too, a number 
of the States, following the example of New York, have 
taken active measures looking toward the preservation of 
their forests. Many commonwealths now have officers 
(usually called forest commissioners) charged with the care 
of forest interests. Local and State forestry associations 
have been formed in twenty commonwealths, and in nearly 
all an Arbor Day is set aside each year to encourage the 
planting and care of trees. 

For the preservation of fish and game, laws have been 
enacted providing for close seasons, that is, sea- pish 
sons within which fish or game cannot be taken gamo laws 


86 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


or killed. Such laws also generally restrict the manner of 
hunting certain game and of catching fish. The adminis¬ 
tration of fish and game laws is ordinarily entrusted to one 
or more commissioners, who are aided in their work by a 
number of wardens. 

121. Agriculture and Agricultural Interests. For the 

general promotion of agricultural interests there is com- 

. monly a department of agriculture in charge of a 

StEt6 

agricultural commissioner, or a State agricultural board. The 

department •■ ,. «• .-i • j . . i • «i • ij* 

duties or this department ordinarily include in¬ 
spection of live stock with a view of preventing contagious 
disease, administration of State laws relative to the sale of 
adulterated food and dairy products, holding of farmers* 
institutes and annual State fairs, recommendation of de¬ 
sirable legislation, and other miscellaneous duties. 

Education in scientific agriculture has been greatly aided 
by the establishment of agricultural and mechanical col- 
Agricuiturai leges, which in many commonwealths form an 
education integral part of the State university. Agricultural 
experiment stations have also been established, which, like 
the State agricultural colleges, are subsidized by the federal 
government. 

122. Labor and Factory Laws. The adoption of regula¬ 
tions concerning the employment of labor and the condi- 
state labor tions in factories constitutes another important 
bureaus economic function of State governments. In 
thirty-two commonwealths general supervision of labor in¬ 
terests is entrusted to a State labor bureau, at the head of 
which is a commissioner aided by several deputies. One of 
the most important duties of these bureaus is the collection 
of statistics bearing upon industrial education and the 
economic condition of the laboring class. 1 

In many commonwealths, factory inspectors visit and in¬ 
spect factories, workshops, and mercantile establishments. 


1 A similar service is performed on a more extensive scale by the federal Department of 
Labor (Section 232). 



{By courtesy of the Forest Service, Washington, D. C.) 

The complete destruction of a forest by fire, Port Townsend, Wash. The trees 
planted to replace those b'urned grow to the height of a man in about four years. 
Many years must elapse before a forest can be restored. 



Brush piles ready for burning, Bitter-Root National Forest,Mont. Scientific methods 

prevent forest fires. 


























{By courtesy of t7ie Review of Reviews Company ) 


MINNESOTA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 

Crop nursery near St. Paul. Here new varieties of cereals are originated, and old 
ones improved. The small erect bundles of grain in the foreground are each of a 
distinct variety of wheat. These bundles have been carefully harvested and tied 
up with cloth to prevent loss of grain. An exact account is taken of the number 
of heads, weight of yield, etc., and seed from the best plants is saved for use the 
next year. 



THE DAIRY CAR OF THE “BETTER FARMING SPECIAL” 

Other cars are devoted to crops, forestry, etc. The train is equipped by the Boston 
and Albany Railroad with the cooperation of the Massachusetts Agricultural Col¬ 
lege. It is periodically sent through the agricultural districts and lectures are de¬ 
livered to audiences of farmers. 


S. 






















CONTROL OF ECONOMIC INTERESTS 


87 


and enforce the State laws concerning them. Factory legis¬ 
lation has three principal objects: (1) The protection of 
the- health of employees, by securing proper 0bjectse 
ventilation, heating, lighting, and good sanitary factory 
conditions generally. (2) The prevention of acci- legi3latl011 
dents, by requiring guards on dangerous machinery, eleva¬ 
tors, and hoistways; also by requiring the inspection of 
boilers, and the construction of suitable exits and fire- 
escapes. ( 3 ) The regulation of the conditions of employ¬ 
ment, especially in the case of women and children, by re¬ 
stricting the hours of labor, prescribing intervals of rest 
during the working-day, prohibiting night work, and fixing 
a minimum age limit for the employment of children — 
usually fourteen years. 

Many commonwealths have provided that eight hours 
shall constitute a day’s work for all laborers employed by 
the State or local governments. In private in- Length of 
dustry the hours of labor have been generally labor<la y 
reduced from twelve or fourteen hours in the early part of 
the nineteenth century to eight or ten at the present time; 
and one of the principal aims of labor unions is to secure 
universal acceptance of the eight-hour day. 

To aid in the settlement of industrial disputes, many 
States have established boards of arbitration. These gen¬ 
erally consist of three or five members appointed Boards of 
by the governor, employers and employees being 
equally represented. When strikes or lock-outs occur, it is 
the duty of these boards to investigate the situation, and if 
possible to bring about an amicable settlement. They may 
also arbitrate the controversy, providing both parties con¬ 
sent. 

In many commonwealths free public employment offices 
are maintained by State or local authority to aid Publlc 
the unemployed in finding work, and also as a wjUjjrart 
means of checking the abuses of private employ¬ 
ment bureaus. 


88 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


123. Characteristics and Development of Corporations. 

Capital is the third great agency in the production of wealth; 
Character- and perhaps the most important economic func- 
isttcs tion G f gtate governments is exercised through the 
power to create and regulate corporations, the capitalistic 
organizations which control the greater part of the com¬ 
merce and manufactures of the country. A corporation 
may be defined as a legal person, distinct from the members 
who comprise it, having a special name, and the capacity 
of acting for various purposes as a single individual. The 
corporation is immortal in the legal sense that it can be 
made capable of indefinite duration; it may sue and be sued 
in its corporate name; it may acquire property, and — under 
certain limitations — borrow money; and finally, it has the 
power to elect officers and to adopt by-laws for the detailed 
regulation of its business. 

The private corporation is of ancient origin, but its re¬ 
markable development in the nineteenth century may be 
Develop- traced to the industrial revolution of the eight- 
ment eenth. That revolution was characterized by the 
change from hand to machine labor, from production on a 
small scale to the factory system. The partnership was at 
first employed as a means of obtaining the larger capital 
demanded by the new industrial methods, and this con¬ 
tinued the common form of business association until the 
middle of the nineteenth century. But even the partner¬ 
ship was inadequate for the colossal industrial develop¬ 
ment of the age of steam and electricity; and hence about 
the middle of the nineteenth century, the corporation came 
into general use for larger industrial enterprises. 

The stock of the corporation can be distributed among 
hundreds or thousands of members, thus accumulating 

Advantages amounts of capital impossible in the case of a 
partnership. Then, too, the shareholders of the 
corporation are usually not liable for corporation debts 
beyond the amount of their stock, whereas partners are 


CONTROL OF ECONOMIC INTERESTS 


89 


jointly and severally liable for firm debts to the full extent 
of their property. Furthermore, corporate liability cannot 
be created by the acts of individual members, but only by 
the directors or officers duly authorized; whereas each part¬ 
ner ordinarily has authority to bind the firm by his acts if 
within the scope of the partnership business. Finally, the 
partnership is ordinarily terminated by the death of one of 
its members, the contrary being true of the corporation. 
These and other advantages have given the corporation its 
dominating position in modern industrial life. 

124. Organization and Control of Corporations. In gen¬ 
eral, the powers, duties, and liabilities of the corporation are 
determined by its charter, an instrument ordi- General and 
narily granted by the State government under a special acts 
general act, although a few commonwealths still permit the 
granting of charters by special acts. In the case of a private 
corporation the charter once granted is in the nature of a 
contract, and cannot afterwards be materially altered or 
annulled unless this right has been previously reserved. 

In the organization of private corporations a distinction 
is commonly made between those formed for profit and those 
not for profit. In most States, corporations for Method of 
profit are organized under a general law applicable orgailization 
alike to all such corporations; but frequently the general 
law does not apply to certain classes of corporations, such 
as banks, insurance companies, and railroads, which are 
chartered under laws specially adapted to each of these 
forms of industry. The general corporation laws ordinarily 
provide that persons who wish to form a corporation must 
apply to the secretary of state for a charter, which will be 
duly issued upon compliance with the legal requirements. 

Corporations are commonly required to make annual 
reports to the secretary of state, showing the 0{jntrol 
amount of their capital stock, volume of busi¬ 
ness, and indebtedness; and they must also submit to such 
other requirements and regulations as the legislature may 


90 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


from time to time deem necessary in the exercise of its 
police and taxing powers. 

125. Regulation of Banks, Insurance Companies, and 
Railroads. A considerable degree of State control is cus- 
Banking tomary in the case of banks, insurance companies, 
laws and railroads, since these corporations come into 
the closest relations with the people and vitally affect 
the public welfare. Banks are commonly organized under 
a general banking law, which in many States must be 
first submitted to the voters for approval. Such laws regu¬ 
late in considerable detail the management of banks, with 
the object of protecting depositors and the public. 

Insurance companies are also subject to a considerable 
degree of supervision, frequently exercised by a State insur- 
insurance ance commissioner. As in the case of banks, pro- 
companies vision is ordinarily made for the examination of 
such companies, for annual reports showing in detail the 
business for the preceding year, and for the maintenance of 
a reserve fund bearing a certain ratio to the amount of in¬ 
surance in force. 

As quasi-public corporations, railroads are subject to a 
large degree of governmental supervision. Their business 
Railway which lies wholly within the boundaries of the 
regulation commonwealth may be regulated by the State 
government, interstate traffic being subject to federal con¬ 
trol. For their supervision, many commonwealths have 
established boards of railway commissioners, charged with 
the special duty of protecting the public and shippers. 
State railway legislation has sought especially to check 
combinations of parallel or competing lines (the object of 
such combination being to eliminate competition); and also 
to prevent discriminating rates in favor of certain shippers, 
unreasonable charges for services, and overcapitalization 
of roads with the consequent burden upon rates. 

126. Industrial Combinations. The simplest form of 
combination among producers consists of “friendly agree- 


CONTROL OF ECONOMIC INTERESTS 


91 


ments ” designed to check competition by establishing a uni¬ 
form selling price, or by limiting the amount of the prod¬ 
uct. In times past these agreements were often Agreements 
violated, and soon a second and more formal plan and pools 
of organization was developed, known as the “ pool.” This 
was a formal agreement to maintain prices through a divi¬ 
sion of the territory, business, or earnings. For many years 
pooling was common in the railway business, the traffic or 
revenues being divided among the various roads according 
to certain fixed ratios. These agreements were not enforce¬ 
able at law, since American courts have uniformly held 
pooling contracts to be in restraint of trade and against 
public policy; and the difficulty of enforcing such arrange¬ 
ments, together with the prohibition of railway pooling by 
the federal Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 , ultimately 
led to the adoption of a new form of combination. 

This third form of combination is known as the trust. 
Originally, trusts were formed by having competitive cor¬ 
porations place their stock in the hands of a board 
4 The trusts 

of trustees, who were thus enabled to manage the 

business of the several corporations in such a way as to se¬ 
cure complete harmony of action. The original stockholders 
in the corporation were given trust certificates in exchange 
for their stock, and dividends were paid on the basis of these 
certificates. 

The courts finally held the trust form of combination 
illegal, declaring that corporations had no power to surren¬ 
der control of their stock to a board of trustees, change 
Further, most of the States as well as the federal ln form 
government passed anti-trust laws. But the effect of judicial 
decisions, as well as of hostile legislation, was merely to cause 
a change in the form of combination. In some cases, as with 
the Whiskey and Sugar Trusts, a single immense corpora¬ 
tion was formed which undertook to secure a monopoly by 
buying out numerous smaller concerns. In other cases, as 
with the Standard Oil Company, those who directed its 


92 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


policy obtained a majority of the stock in several large 
corporations, harmony of action being insured by having 
the same men in control of the affairs of each separate cor¬ 
poration. 

At the present time the common form of combination is 
that of one great corporation owning many separate plants. 
Capitalistic The rapid formation of such combinations within 
monopolies tp e i as £ twenty years constitutes the most striking 
fact in the economic world. Since their formation is largely 
due to the influence of modern capitalistic production, these 
combinations are usually called capitalistic monopolies. The 
chief advantages claimed for the great industrial combina¬ 
tions are that they avoid the wastes of excessive competi¬ 
tion, and secure the economies of large-scale production. 
The principal objections urged against them are that they 
crush out competition, often by unfair methods, and secure 
a monopoly control which enables them to charge monopoly 
prices. Another objection is that their capital is often ex¬ 
cessive, thus necessitating high prices to the consumer in 
order that dividends may be paid upon watered stock. 
Widely divergent views are held as to the course which 
government should take concerning capitalistic monopolies. 
Many persons favor radical action which will entirely de¬ 
stroy them; while others believe that trusts should be so 
regulated by law that their good features may be retained, 
and their evil practices abolished. It is generally conceded 
that effective action in this direction is only possible through 
the agency of the federal government, which has power to 
regulate all corporations engaged in foreign or interstate 
commerce. 

127. Transportation — Roads and Bridges. Since in 
Road-build- m °dern times commerce is essentially a matter of 
ing and transportation, the construction and maintenance 

Ulcli lit 6 HclUC 6 n 1 11*1 * a . 1 • 

of roads and bridges is one of the most impor¬ 
tant functions exercised under State authority. Super¬ 
vision of road construction is commonly entrusted to lo- 


CONTROL OF ECONOMIC INTERESTS 


93 


cally elected county or township commissioners. The 
township commissioners ordinarily have authority to di¬ 
vide the township into several road districts, in each of 
which an overseer is chosen who acts under the authority 
of the township officers. It is the duty of the commissioners 
to keep in repair the existing roads and bridges, and to con¬ 
struct new ones upon the petition of a certain number of 
freeholders. Under the power of eminent domain, private 
property may be appropriated for such construction upon 
making proper compensation to the owner. A part of the 
cost of construction is commonly assessed upon the abut¬ 
ting land-owners, the remainder being paid out of the local 
treasury. The cost of maintenance is commonly borne in 
the same way; and many States still permit the road-tax to 
be paid by a certain number of days’ labor on the road — 
a policy scarcely conducive to expert construction. 

The inferior results of local road-making have led a 
number of commonwealths to cooperate in this work by 
creating the office of State commissioner, charged state 
with general supervision of road construction su P ervlsIon 
throughout the commonwealth. It is the duty of the com¬ 
missioner to pass upon applications from local commission¬ 
ers for new roads, also to furnish plans and award contracts, 
the cost being apportioned between the State and the local 
district. 

Outside of the cities the construction of bridges is gen¬ 
erally left to the county commissioners, subject to the 
requirement of the federal government that no Brldg0g 
bridge shall be built across a navigable river un¬ 
less its construction is first approved by the Secretary of 
War. 

128. Canals and River Navigation. Nearly all the canals 
in the country have been constructed by the State govern¬ 
ments, or by companies chartered by them. The canal 
period of canal construction dates from 1825 construction 

(when the Erie Canal was completed) to about 1840 , at 


94 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Supervision 


which time attention was diverted to railroad building. 
The construction of canals contributed greatly to the early 
development of the commonwealths in which they were 
located, and for some time their competition served as a 
check upon railroad rates; but with few exceptions they 
have now been abandoned, the railway having proved too 
formidable a competitor. 

General supervision of canals is ordinarily exercised 
by the State board of public works, or canal board. The 
executive officer in direct charge of the system 
is the superintendent of public works or the 
State engineer. This officer with his assistants looks after 
necessary repairs, enforces the rules of navigation, and 
investigates improvement projects. 

River navigation is also generally subject to State super- 
River vision under police regulations designed to safe- 
navigation guard the public. Enforcement of these regula¬ 
tions is sometimes entrusted to the State superintendent 
of public works. 

129 . Weights and Measures. Commerce is greatly 
aided by the use of accurate and uniform standards of 
state value and of weights and measures. The estab- 
controi lishment and regulation of the standard of value 
is an exclusive function of the federal government. While 
Congress may likewise exercise exclusive authority over 
the subject of weights and measures, it has not as yet 
done so, and hence the establishment of these standards 
is a State function. In 1836 Congress instructed the Secre¬ 
tary of the Treasury to deliver to the governors of the 
respective States complete sets of the standards of weights 
and measures used in the federal custom-house, thus making 
possible a uniform system. The State standards are gen¬ 
erally in the custody of a State sealer or superintendent of 
weights and measures. From this officer copies may be 
obtained for the use of county sealers, who in turn furnish 
copies for the use of local officials. 


CONTROL OF ECONOMIC INTERESTS 


95 


130. Trade-marks. In order to encourage the produc¬ 
tion of a high quality of goods and to protect manufac¬ 
turers against dishonest competition, the State 
governments grant proprietary rights in the use Purpose 
of private brands, labels, and trade-marks. When such 
brands or marks are regularly advertised by one manu¬ 
facturer, they cannot be legally used by another, and thus 
both the manufacturer and the consumer are protected. 


GENERAL REFERENCES 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), pp. 721-742. 

Bullock, C. J., Introduction to the Study of Economics (1900), chs. xi, xrv. 

Jenks, J. W., The Trust Problem (1909). 

Johnson, Emory R., American Railway Transportation (1909). 

Nearing, Scott, and Watson, F. D., Economics (1908), pp. 60-309. 

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. Prepare a report on the policy of your State in disposing of its public 
lands. 

2. What public lands are now owned by your State? Have any steps been 
taken toward forest preservation? 

3. Is your State department of agriculture in charge of a commissioner or 
board? Examine the last report of this department, and write a short 
paper upon its work. 

4. Who is at the head of your State labor bureau? Examine the report 
of this department and explain the functions performed. 

5. Prepare a report upon the factory legislation in force in your State. 

6. Is there a State board of arbitration in your commonwealth? Has it 
been successful in settling industrial disputes? 

7. What strikes occurred in your State last year? What percentage of 
these were successful? (See report of Bureau of Labor.) 

8. Is there a free public employment office in your community? What 
work does it perform? 

9. How are private corporations chartered in your commonwealth? May 
the legislature modify the charter? 

10. What is a trust? Outline the law of your State concerning trusts. 

11. Prepare a report showing (a) the wastes of excessive competition, and 
(b) the advantages of large-scale production. (Jenks, J. W., The Trust 
Problem.) 

12. Name several partnerships in your community; several corporations. 
Name five of the largest industrial combinations (commonly called 
trusts) in the United States. 

13. Who has charge of road-making in your commonwealth? Does the 
State supervise road construction or bear part of the cost? 


CHAPTER X 

PUBLIC EDUCATION 


131. Early and Modem Education. Between early and 
modern systems of education two striking differences 
appear. From the first century a.d. down to the very be¬ 
ginning of the nineteenth century, education was almost 
universally controlled by the church, and was confined to 
the wealthier classes; while to-day education is generally 
recognized as a function of the State, and its benefits are 
freely offered to all children, the expense being borne by 
the community. Nowhere has this modern conception of 
free public education been more fully realized than in the 
United States. 


132. State Control of Education. During our colonial 
history, schools and colleges were fostered by the individual 
Educational colonies, and hence upon the adoption of the fed- 
systems e ral constitution, control of public instruction was 
one of the functions retained by the State governments. 
It will be seen later that the federal government has aided 
the cause of education in a substantial manner; but the 
actual control and maintenance of the public schools is 
a State, not a federal, function. State educational systems 
vary widely in character, but generally include: (1) a sys¬ 
tem of elementary or common schools; (2) a system of 
secondary or high schools; and ( 3 ), in nearly all of the com¬ 
monwealths, a State university. 

133. Elementary or Common Schools. Elementary or 
common schools are found in every section of the United 

States, however sparsely inhabited. Elementary 
education ordinarily includes the first eight 
grades of the course of study, occupying the child from 


Grades 






PUBLIC EDUCATION 


97 


the sixth to the fourteenth year. This period is frequently 
subdivided into the primary department, comprising the 
first four grades; the intermediate department, including 
the fifth and sixth grades; and the grammar department, or 
seventh and eighth grades. Where elementary schools are 
fully graded, there is generally a separate room for each 
of the eight grades, promotions from one room to another 
being an annual or semi-annual event. 

The course of study in the elementary schools ordinarily 
includes reading, writing, arithmetic, spelling, language, 
grammar, geography, and history; and in progres- course 
sive school systems, instruction is also provided in 01 study 
natural science, drawing, vocal music, physical culture, 
and manual training. 

Public interest in educational affairs has usually centered 
upon the elementary schools, owing to the fact that nearly 
ninety per cent of the entire number of pupils Advantages 
are enrolled in the first eight grades. As train- g*^ 110 " 
ing schools for the duties of citizenship our com- training 
mon schools are probably unequaled by those of any other 
country. Two of the great advantages justly claimed for 
the American public-school system are: first, the develop¬ 
ment of individual character by massing children from all 
walks of life in common association, thereby compelling 
each child to take the rough-and-tumble of life in competi¬ 
tion with every other; and second, the Americanizing in¬ 
fluence upon foreigners whose children in the public schools 
learn our language and the principles of American institu¬ 
tions, thus making less difficult the problem of assimilation. 

134. Educational Progress. At the present time there 
are enrolled in the common schools of the United States 
about 21,000,000 pupils, or twenty per cent of our total 
population. Within the last thirty years the number of 
schoolhouses as well as the revenues for school purposes 
have more than doubled; the number of days attended 
by pupils has increased one fourth; while the percentage 


98 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


of illiterates has decreased from seventeen per cent in 1880 
to six per cent at the present time. 

135. High School or Secondary Education. Secondary 

education (comprising the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and 
„ , , , twelfth years of the course of instruction) is car- 

increase of ried on chiefly in public high schools, which in 
high schools p resen t form are a product of the nineteenth 

century. Previous to 1850 , only eighteen public high 
schools had been established in the United States. Since 
1850 , public high schools have multiplied rapidly, until at 
present the total number of such institutions is 14 , 000 , with 
2,000,000 students. Several States, including Massachu¬ 
setts, Maryland, Minnesota, and California, require each 
township to maintain a free public high school. Elsewhere 
the establishment of these institutions is left to the discre¬ 
tion of the local school districts, although the constitutions 
of at least half the commonwealths mention high schools as 
special subjects of legislative and general interest. 

The high-school course ordinarily comprises four years, 
following eight years of work in the elementary school; 
Character- or a course of three years only, in communities 
istics which have adopted the junior high school plan 
of organization. Most public high schools receive and 
educate both sexes in the same classrooms and under the 
same teachers, although a few of the larger cities provide 
separate high schools for each sex. The modern high 
school is sometimes called the “people’s college,” and in 
range of studies and thoroughness of work, good high 
schools of to-day doubtless surpass even the best colleges 
of fifty years ago. The best high schools now serve the 
dual function of fitting students for the everyday duties of 
life, and of preparing their graduates to meet university 
entrance requirements. 

136. Colleges and Universities. The five hundred col¬ 
leges and universities of the United States may be grouped 
into three classes. (1) Non-sectarian institutions chartered 


PUBLIC EDUCATION 


99 


Glasses 


Origin 


by the State governments as private corporations, such as 
Harvard, Cornell, and Leland Stanford. (2) Denomina¬ 
tional institutions likewise chartered as private 
corporations, but which are under ecclesiastical 
control or supervision, as Georgetown and Wesleyan uni¬ 
versities. ( 3 ) Universities and colleges established by the 
State governments as public institutions and directly sub¬ 
ject to State control, as the State universities of Michigan, 
Wisconsin, and California. The foremost colleges and 
universities of the country are included in the first or third 
classes, being non-sectarian in character; but in numbers 
the institutions under church control are in the majority. 

137. The State University. In the earlier period of our 
history, nearly all the institutions of higher education were 
chartered as private corporations, although often 
receiving aid from the State in the form of land 
or money, or exemption from taxation. With the growth 
of the democratic spirit of the nineteenth century, con¬ 
siderable opposition was manifested toward granting pub¬ 
lic aid to institutions which were subject not to public 
control, but to that of some denomination or sect; and the 
belief that the State should control higher as well as ele¬ 
mentary education led to the establishment of the State 
universities. In this movement the Southern States took 
the lead, their example being soon afterwards followed by 
Indiana ( 1820 ), and Michigan ( 1837 ). East of the Alle- 
ghanies the private institutions had become so firmly 
established as to leave no place for State universities; 1 but 
“the establishment of State universities in the West and 
South came as a matter of course, and has kept pace with 
the stars on the flag.” 

The twenty-seven States formed out of the public lands 
received from the federal government a donation Federal ald 
generally consisting of two complete townships 
(seventy-two square miles of land) for the support of higher 

l Maine, Vermont, and Virginia have State universities. 


100 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


education. Again in 1862 the State universities received 
substantial federal aid through the enactment by Congress 
of the Morrill Act granting to each State in the Union, and 
to each State afterwards admitted, 30,000 acres of land for 
each Representative and Senator in Congress. The income 
of the funds arising from the sale of this land was to form 
a permanent endowment for the support of higher institu¬ 
tions of learning in which technical and agricultural branches 
should be taught. Among the State universities owing their 
origin to the Morrill Act are those of California, Illinois, 
Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, West Virginia, and 
Wyoming. By acts passed in 1890 and in 1907, the federal 
government gave further aid to agricultural and mechani¬ 
cal education by granting an annual appropriation (now 
$50,000) to each State maintaining an institution of this 
character. 

In all, forty commonwealths maintain State universities, 
and these enroll about one third of the entire number of uni¬ 
versity students. Many of the largest universities of the 
country are State institutions. All are co-educational, and 
in all tuition is practically free to residents of the State. 
The income is derived in part from the proceeds of the 
federal land grants, but chiefly from the “mill tax,” or gen¬ 
eral appropriation authorized by the State legislature. 

138 . Administration of Public Schools. The organiza¬ 
tion of the common-school system varies widely among the 
different States, and often there is great diversity even in 
different parts of the same State. This is owing to the fact 
that in its origin school administration was exceedingly 
local in character, and only gradually is it becoming 
unified through the exercise of State authority. The or¬ 
ganization and control of the public schools is generally 
a function either of the school district, the township, the 
city, or the county. Accordingly there are four distinct 
types of school administration: the district, township, city, 
and county systems. Administration of the schools by each 




A modern township school-building as provided under the “ centralization plan.” 



Pupils of the primary and grammar grades as they go to school in Gustavus Town¬ 
ship, Trumbull County, Ohio. A stage is required to stop at each child’s home; 
and if the pupil is not ready to go to school he is marked “ tardy.” 



Typical schoolhouse in irrigated district near Billings, Mont. Schools are among 
the first buildings erected on newly opened lands. They are so distributed that ne 
child is out of reach. The sheds at the left are for the pupils’ ponies. 
































PUBLIC SCHOOL 165, NEW YORK CITY 



THE GROVER CLEVELAND SCHOOL, PHILADELPHIA 


TYPES OF MODERN CITY SCHOOLS 







































PUBLIC EDUCATION 


101 


of these local areas is at all times subject to modification and 
control by the paramount authority of the State govern¬ 
ment. 

139. The District System. The district system had its 
origin in colonial New England, where each little settle¬ 
ment formed a natural nucleus for school adminis- „ . . 

Origin and 

tration. As the population moved westward, the charactor- 
same district system was created, and in some lstics 
form still prevails in the great majority of the States. The 
district is the smallest unit of school administration, and is 
the most democratic feature of our political organization. 
In the South it is usually a subdivision of the county; else¬ 
where of the town or township. Generally the voters within 
the district elect the school trustees and levy the school tax, 
although in some States these functions are performed by 
the county. The great merit of the district system in the 
early period of our history was that it brought the public 
schools easily within the reach of all; but under present 
conditions this system is often wasteful and inefficient, 
owing to the small size of the administrative unit. The 
present tendency is to replace the district by a larger unit 
of organization, such as the towmship. 1 

140. The Township System. Under the township system 
all schools within the boundaries of the township are placed 
under the control of a single board chosen by the characteris- 
voters. By this plan there are fewer schools, but tic * eatuies 
these are better graded and equipped; and with the expend¬ 
iture of less money better salaries can be paid, and better 
teachers secured. In six commonwealths the plan of town¬ 
ship organization has been made compulsory, while in at 
least twenty others there is permissive legislation providing 
for this or some similar form of centralization. 

The township system tends to create two distinct classes 
of schools: first, centralized rural schools conveniently 

1 In Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Indiana, the 
district plan has been entirely superseded by the township system. 


102 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


tlon ol 
pupils 


located throughout the township, generally graded to a 
certain extent, and having two or more teachers; and 
Types oi second, township or union high schools, which con- 
schoois stitute practically the only means of furnishing 
secondary education to the children in rural communities. 

This centralization of rural schools gives rise to the prob¬ 
lem of free transportation of pupils. With but three or four 

Transports- sc ^ 100 ^ s f° r en ti re township, considerable dis¬ 
tances must be traveled by many of the pupils; 
and this has led many commonwealths to pro¬ 
vide free transportation of pupils. 

141. City School Systems. Cities commonly have a 
system of schools separate from that of the township and 
Organization county in which they are situated. In other 
and control wor( j s> the city itself ordinarily constitutes a spe¬ 
cial school district under general provisions of the school law 
relating to municipalities, or under special charters granted 
by the legislature. Great diversity prevails in the organiza¬ 
tion of schools in the various cities: but universally the ad¬ 
ministration is entrusted to a board of education (generally 
chosen by the voters), and a superintendent of schools who 
is the executive officer of the board. In organization, equip¬ 
ment, and supervision, city schools constitute the most 
highly developed type of our educational system. 

142. The County System. Throughout the South, the 
county serves as the basis of school administration. In 

Administra- some States, as in Georgia and Maryland, the 
tion in the county itself constitutes a single school district; 

in other commonwealths it is generally subdivided 
for school administration, the smaller divisions being sub¬ 
ject to county authority. Accordingly, county officials 
build schoolhouses, appoint teachers, and levy school taxes 
— functions which throughout the greater part of the Union 
are vested in district or township school boards. 1 

1 Ten State3, all Southern except Utah, have the county system. These are Alabama, 
Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Caro- 


PUBLIC EDUCATION 


103 


For the supervision of rural schools, most States outside 
of New England have created the office of county super¬ 
intendent or school commissioner. County super- county 
intendents are generally elected by popular vote, supervision 
although in some commonwealths the office is an appoint¬ 
ive one. 

143. State Administration of Schools. State control of 
education is exercised in two ways: (1) through legislation, 
by general school laws for the entire State, or by Means of 
special laws applying to certain localities; and contro1 
(2) through State administrative officers, who exercise 
certain supervisory powers over the public schools. 

Each commonwealth has an officer, generally known as 
the State superintendent of public instruction, 1 who nom¬ 
inally is the head of the public-school system of state super- 
the State. In a few commonwealths, as in New tatendent 
York and Pennsylvania, this officer has important powers, 
so that he may be regarded as the actual head of the State 
school system. But in most commonwealths his powers are 
limited to investigation and admonition, while in several 
he is little more than a clerk charged with the collection 
and publication of educational statistics. The State super¬ 
intendent is elected by popular vote in thirty-five com¬ 
monwealths, and this fact has tended to make the office 
political in character, rather than professional. In thirteen 
other commonwealths the State superintendent is appointed 
either by the governor, the general assembly, or by the 
State board of education. The common term is either two 
or four years. 

With few exceptions the commonwealths have State 
boards of education, whose powers vary as widely as 
those of the several State superintendents. In state boards 
New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, the of education 
State board has large powers; elsewhere its duties often are 
confined to the examination and certification of teachers. 

1 Also called the superintendent or commissioner of common or public schools. 


104 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


144. Textbooks. The adoption of suitable text-books is 
one of the most important matters connected with school 
administration. In about half of the States uniform text¬ 
books are used throughout the commonwealth, these being 
chosen either by the State boards of education, or by special 
text-book commissions. In several others, county uniform¬ 
ity prevails; while in the remainder, the local boards ordi¬ 
narily select the books to be used in each school district. 
In practically all the States, text-books are provided free 
to indigent children. In eleven States they must be fur¬ 
nished free to all pupils, while in seventeen others they may 
be so furnished at the option of the local board of educa¬ 
tion, or upon authorization by a local popular vote. 

145. Compulsory Education. About three fourths of the 
States have compulsory education laws, which ordinarily 
Object require children from eight to fourteen years of 
and effect a g e j - 0 attend school a certain number of weeks 
each year. The penalty imposed on parents for neglect of 
these statutes is a fine ranging from five to fifty dollars. 
The object of compulsory education laws is to protect the 
State from ignorance and illiteracy by assuring each child 
at least the elements of an education. That such laws are 
fairly effective is shown by the fact that seventy per cent 
of the total school population (five to eighteen years) is 
enrolled in the public schools. In cities the enforcement of 
compulsory educational laws is commonly entrusted to 
truant officers employed by boards of education. 

146. School Revenues. The total annual expenditure on 

common schools in the United States is about $ 800 , 000 , 000 . 
_ This revenue is derived from four sources: first. 

Sources 

local taxation, which yields 74 per cent of the 
total; second, State taxation, which furnishes 16 per cent; 
third, miscellaneous sources, about 7 per cent; and fourth, 
the income from permanent funds and endowments, which 
yields about 3 per cent. Local taxation is thus the principal 
source of school revenue throughout the Union. The amount 


PUBLIC EDUCATION 


105 


Land grants 


of this local tax is generally voted by the legislative authority 
of the county or township, or by the district board of educa¬ 
tion. Frequently State laws fix the minimum and maximum 
amounts to be raised, leaving to local authorities discretion 
within these limits. 

147 . Federal Aid to Public Education. By the famous 
land ordinance of 1785, the federal government provided 
for the reservation of section sixteen in each 
township for the maintenance of the public 
schools. Beginning with Ohio in 1802, each of the public- 
land States accordingly received section sixteen in every 
township; while each commonwealth admitted after 1848 
received two sections. The entire amount turned over to the 
States was 67,893,918 acres, which, at the traditional price 
of $1.25 per acre, gave a perpetual endowment of nearly 
$85,000,000. The income from the sale of these lands is 
apportioned by each State annually upon the basis of the 
number of children of school age within each local district. 

148 . Educational Work of the Federal Government. In 
1917 Congress passed the Smith-Hughes Act, which pro¬ 
vides federal aid for vocational education. Each smith- 
State accepting its provisions must establish a Hu g hesAct 
State board of control of day-industrial, evening, part- 
time, continuation, agricultural, and home-making schools. 
Each State must also agree to appropriate, either through 
the State or locally, an amount of money equivalent to 
the sum received from the federal board. The amounts 
appropriated under this act are to be increased annually 
until the year 1925—1926, when the States will receive 
seven million dollars from the national treasury in support 
of vocational education. 

In addition to the generous land and money grants in sup<- 
piort of the State school systems, the federal government has 
aided education by the establishment in 1867 of a Bureau of 
Bureau of Education. It is the duty of the com- Etlucatlon 
missioner at the head of this bureau to collect and publish 


106 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


statistics concerning the schools of the United States; and 
his office publishes an annual report, as well as monographs 
of great value. The federal government provides academies 
at Annapolis and West Point for the education of naval and 
army officers; maintains schools for the Indians; and sup¬ 
ports the Smithsonian Institution, a naval observatory, 
the geological survey, and other scientific establishments 
educational in character. 

< 

GENERAL REFERENCES 

Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth (1907), n, ch. cv. 

Dexter, E. G., History of Education in the United States (1906). 

Draper, A. S., American Education (1909). 

Dutton, S. T., and Snedden, David, The Administration of Public Educar 
tioninthe United States (1909). 

Hart, A. B., Actual Government (1903), ch. xxvm. 


QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. How many members comprise your board of education or school trus¬ 
tees? How chosen? Term? Chief powers and duties? 

2. What amount was expended by your district last year for the support 
of its schools? How much per pupil? How does this compare with the 
per-capita expenditure in other districts of your State? 

3. What amount of school revenue is derived from local taxation in your 
district? What is the rate of the local tax for school purposes? 

4. Is there a law in your State compelling children of a certain age to at¬ 
tend school? If so, during what ages is such attendance required and 
for what term each year? 

5. How many high schools in your district? Number of pupils enrolled? 
Compare the course of study with that outlined in the text. 

6. Is there county supervision of rural schools in your commonwealth? 
How is the county superintendent chosen? How are schools supervised 
in your district? 

7. Are text-books furnished free to all pupils in your district? Give the 
chief arguments for and against free text-books. 

8. Who chooses your State superintendent of instruction (or commis¬ 
sioner of public schools)? What is his term? Describe his duties. 

9. Is there a State board of education in your commonwealth? If so, 
state the number of members, method of appointment, and term. 

10. Name the principal universities and colleges in your State. Classify 
them into three groups as suggested in Section 136. 

11. What aid to public education has your State received from the federal 
government? 


CHAPTER XI 


STATE FINANCE 


149 . Expenditures of National, State, and Local Govern¬ 
ments. The expenditures of the national government form 
about 35 per cent of the total governmental expenditures; 
those of the State governments about 10 per cent; while 
local expenditures comprise nearly 55 per cent. In other 
countries as well as in the United States, the expenditures 
of local governments form an increasing proportion of the 



ffl/tton-s joo 200 300 400 5oo 600 700 eoo 900 1000 
(01 


1200 


a Incorporated Places of 
over 2500 Population, 
b Nat/ona/ Government. 
c Counties, 
d 'States. 


EXPENDITURES OF NATIONAL, STATE, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 

aggregate governmental expenditure, owing to the number 
and importance of the functions which local units perform. 

150 . State and Local Expenditures. Under our system 
of government, the chief expense of administration is borne, 
not by the State government itself, but by its sub- ^ 
divisions, the counties, townships, and municipal¬ 
ities. Hence a comparatively small part of the total revenue 
levied and collected under State laws is taken by the com¬ 
monwealth for its own purposes. The principal expendi¬ 
tures by State governments are for the maintenance of its 
executive, legislative, and judicial departments; for the 
















108 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


State militia; for educational, charitable, and penal institu¬ 
tions, as State universities, asylums for the blind and insane, 
and State prisons; for State buildings and public works; 
and for interest on the public debt. Upon local governments 
devolves the heavy expense of poor relief, schools and 
libraries, roads and bridges. In addition, city governments 
must provide police and fire protection, construct water¬ 
works and sewer systems, pave and light the streets, and 
maintain public parks and playgrounds. 


Millions so too jso ?so 300 3 so 400 tsoo 


tco 

a?y 

(CJ 

id) 

<ey 

if) 

if) 

Ih) 

(O 

ij) 

(ft) 

(IJ 



a Pbhi/c. Wortf-s cmd 2s77prcv<c/77cinfr. 
b Reboots. 

c \5fate and loco/ Government?- 
d P-otecii'on toI&njonsondlt'ope/ty. 
e Interest or? Public Debt, 
f U/gbuxat/s. 

cf Gbor/bes, ttocfita/s Correct/orrs. 
t? Health and -Hon/faf/or?. 
i Pt/bi/c. Herv/c-e. Hnter/xr/ses. 
j Ifiscel/aneous . 

H Heoreat/or7. 

1 P/braric^s. 


AMOUNT AND OBJECTS OF STATE AND LOCAL EXPENDITURES 


























STATE FINANCE 


109 


151. Sources of State Revenue. Fees and special assess¬ 
ments form a considerable source of State revenue, although 
relatively much less important than taxation 
proper. Fees are payments made to cover a part 
of the total cost of certain governmental activities per¬ 
formed for the benefit of all, but which confer a special 
benefit upon the individual. For example, there are judicial 
and legal fees, as court fees, the charges for recording deeds 
and mortgages, marriage-fees, and the like; administrative 
fees, including fees for education, when charged; and indus¬ 
trial and commercial fees, as road and canal tolls, harbor 
dues, and similar charges. 

Special assessments, also called “betterment” taxes, are 
closely related to fees. A special assessment has been de¬ 
fined by Professor Seligman as “a compulsory special 
contribution paid once and for all to defray the assessments 
cost of a specific improvement to property undertaken in 
the public interest, and levied by the government in propor¬ 
tion to the special benefits accruing to the property owner.” 
For example, when a street is paved, or when water-pipes 
or sewers are laid, in addition to the general public bene¬ 
fit there is a special benefit to the individual on whose prop¬ 
erty the improvement abuts; and hence it is customary 
to levy a special assessment covering part or all of the cost 
against the owners whose property receives the special 
benefit. 

Taxes may be defined as “ratable burdens or charges 
imposed by the legislative power upon persons or property 
to raise money for public purposes.” The justi- Taxeg 
fication of taxation is the benefit which govern¬ 
ments confer upon individuals. In return for the protection 
which they afford and the public functions fulfilled, govern¬ 
ments may justly take from those benefited, through tax¬ 
ation, the means necessary for their support. Taxes are 
levied in accordance wfith the theory of faculty or ability; 
that is, individuals are required to share the burden of 


110 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


taxation according to their ability, estimated upon the 
basis of property or income. 


J ZOO 300 400 /ZOO 600 700 8oo 900 tooo 




a Genera/ Properfc/ Tar. 
t> Z/orn/nya cf/Pb/pf/c merrice Z/n/srprfses. 
e Jy/quor one/ Of her I?/cense<s. 
d >3fpec/a/ Assessments, 
e llisca/faneous. 
f \ 5 peci<?/ Zboperh/ lares, 
y Z>uf? vanftons ar?cf Grants, 
h Interest and TTents. 

1 fDusin&ss 7 c/x<2s. 

j fftjhurat/ IT/Vi/eges. 

ff Zb// lb*. 

2 lines <7nd lorfei/s. 

m Honaf/ons and G/fts. 

SOURCES OF STATE AND LOCAL REVENUES 


152 . Classification of Taxes. Taxes may be classified 
in various ways, the most common division being into 
direct and indirect taxes. Direct taxes are those 
levied immediately upon the persons who are to 
bear the burden. The law contemplates that the tax¬ 
payer shall also be the tax-bearer, and the burden of tax¬ 
ation cannot ordinarily be shifted. The most important 
direct taxes are the general property tax, mortgage tax, 
inheritance tax, corporation, poll, and income taxes. 

Indirect taxes are those levied upon commodities before 
they reach the consumer. The taxpayer is not the real tax- 
bearer, since the tax is ultimately paid by the 
consumer in the form of a higher price. The 
principal indirect taxes are customs duties, excise or internal 
revenue taxes, franchise and license taxes. 

The federal government derives its revenue almost ex¬ 
clusively from indirect taxes (customs duties and excises). 


Direct taxes 


Indirect 

taxes 










STATE FINANCE 


111 


State and local revenues are derived chiefly from direct 
taxes — the general property tax, inheritance, 
and corporation taxes; together with a relatively and state 
small amount from such indirect taxes as fran- revenua 
chises and licenses. 

Hzr.Cent. 5 fO /& 20 25 30 35 4-0 45 50 55 

<J?) 

(d) 

If) 

PER CENT SOURCES OF STATE AND LOCAL REVENUES 

153. Assessment of General Property Tax. Throughout 
the Union, about sixty per cent of State and local revenues 
is derived from the general property tax, which Process of 
in theory is levied on the entire amount of prop- assessment 
erty, real and personal, owned by taxpayers. The first 
step in administering the general property tax is that of 
assessment, or placing a valuation upon taxable property. 
Local assessors are generally elected by the city, township, 
or county; and these officers inspect and place a value upon 
the property of each taxpayer. To aid in this work, tax¬ 
payers are ordinarily required to make a declaration under 
oath of the amount of their personal property, these 
declarations being subject to correction by the assessors. 

Real estate 1 and visible personal property (as furniture, 
stock in trade, live stock, or other farm capital) can be 
readily discovered by the assessors; but it has Dimci:lties 
proved exceedingly difficult to reach intangible inassess- 
personal property, as notes, bonds, stocks, and 
mortgages. Hence the most valuable portion of personal 
property owned by the wealthiest members of the com- 

1 Real estate includes both land and the permanent structures resting upon it. 









112 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


munity largely escapes taxation. In the United States as 
a whole, probably only one fifth of all personal property 
is reached under the general property tax. Both real and 
personal property are assessed far below their true values, 
real estate being generally rated at from one third to three 
fourths of its actual value. 

154. Equalization. The work of local assessors is com¬ 
monly subject to correction by a county board of equal- 
Boards of ization, since otherwise property in one section of 
equalization the CO unty may be assessed at a lower valua¬ 
tion than property in other sections, thus placing an un¬ 
equal burden upon taxpayers. Furthermore, there is 
generally a State board of equalization charged with the 
duty of reviewing and equalizing the valuations within 
the various counties; for if the property in one county is 
undervalued as compared with the average rate of valua¬ 
tion throughout the commonwealth, the county escapes 
to that extent from its just burden of State taxation. 

155. Levy and Collection of Taxes. After the process 
of assessment has been finished, the next step is the levy of 
Fixing the the tax, or the fixing of the rate. The amount of 
tax rate revenue to be raised is first determined by the 
proper authority of each taxing area — generally by the 
board of education for the school district, by the township 
trustees for the township, by the town-meeting for the 
town, by the council for the municipality, by the county 
commissioners for the county, and by the legislature for 
the State. The rate of taxation is then determined by cal¬ 
culating the ratio between the estimate of necessary funds 
and the total assessed valuation of taxable property within 
the district concerned. For example, if the total State ex¬ 
penditures are estimated at three million dollars, and the 
assessed valuation of all taxable property in the common¬ 
wealth is three billion dollars, the rate for State purposes 
will be the former sum divided by the latter, or one tenth 
of one per cent, or one mill on the dollar. In the same 


STATE FINANCE 


113 


manner the rates for the county, town or township, city, 
village, or school district are separately determined by find¬ 
ing the ratio of the assessed value of taxable property 
within the district to the revenue required by the district. 

The State auditor certifies the State tax rate to the 
county auditors or clerks; and the latter add to this the 
rates authorized for local purposes. The sum of Duties of 
these rates will be the percentage of each tax- auditor 
payer’s property required for the support of State and local 
government. For example, the rates for taxpayers in rural 
and urban communities may be as follows: — 


RURAL 

TAXPAYER 1 

URBAN 

TAXPAYER 

Rate 

Mills 

Rate 

Mills 

School. 

.4.124 

School. 

. 4.927 

Township.. . 

. 1.253 

Municipal.... 

.6.64 

County. 

. 3.183 

County. 

. 3.183 

State. 

.45 

State. 

.45 

Total. 

. 9.01 

Total.. 

.15.2 


All taxes are collected by local officers, generally by 
the township or county treasurer, the township supervisor, 
the selectman, constable, or special tax collect- collection 
ors. The total amount of State and local taxes col- oi taxes 
lected by these officers is then distributed, the respective 
shares being turned over to the township (or city) treasurer, 
the county and the State treasurers. 



TMHotts. So too /S o •Zoo %So &oo 400 450 Soo SSo 600 659 
(O) 


<7 C/f/es oncf Cffrsr 
Iticorporcrfied jP'Y<tc&£. 
£> Oour?f/<^s. 

c 


DISTRIBUTION OF GENERAL PROPERTY TAX AMONG STATE AND 

LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 


1 Thus on property assessed at $1000, the taxpayer in the rural community would pay 
|9.01, while on the same amount of property the urban taxpayer would pay $15.20. 





















114 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


If a taxpayer fails to pay his tax bill at a specified date, 
the property upon which the tax is levied is delinquent. 
Delinquent A penalty in the form of an increased rate is 
taxes then imposed, and if the bill remains unpaid the 
property may be sold to satisfy the claim. If sold, the ex¬ 
cess over the amount of taxes due is given to the owner; 
and ordinarily he has the right within a limited period 
(generally two years) to repurchase the property at the 
sale price plus certain penalties. 

156. Mortgage Taxes. In several commonwealths a tax 
is levied upon capital invested in mortgages. For example, 
in New York a small tax is levied upon mortgages at the 
time of record, after which they are exempt from further 
taxation. The policy which at present prevails in some 
States of taxing mortgages annually at the local tax rate 
is both unjust and difficult of enforcement. Such a tax 
necessarily involves double taxation unless the mortgagor 
is taxed only on the value of his property less the amount 
of the mortgage. 1 

157. Inheritance Taxes. Inheritance taxes are those 
imposed upon property inherited from the estate of a de¬ 
ceased person. This form of taxation is extensively used 
in Great Britain, Switzerland, and Australia; and it also 
prevails in three fourths of the commonwealths of the 
Union. In levying inheritance taxes, the practice is to ex¬ 
empt small estates entirely, and frequently to exempt that 
portion of the estate which passes to direct heirs. 

158. Corporation Tax. The failure of the general prop¬ 
erty tax to reach intangible personal property, such as 

stocks and bonds in the hands of individual own¬ 
ers, has been partially remedied in some com¬ 
monwealths by a tax levied upon corporations, which from 
their nature must maintain an official record of property 
and earnings. 


01 }] act 


1 Since the economic result of a mortgage tax is to increase the interest rate; or, in other 
words, the burden of the tax is imposed upon borrowers. 


STATE FINANCE 


115 


The corporation tax is sometimes a general one imposed 
upon all corporations doing business within the State. More 
often it is levied upon those industries which are General ana 
monopolistic in character, and hence superior to special 
the normal control of commercial forces; or which for some 
other reason bear a public or quasi-public character. Ex¬ 
amples of these are (1) the railway, telegraph, telephone, 
and express industries; (2) bridge companies and corporations 
owning rolling stock and terminals; ( 3 ) banks, building and 
loan associations, and insurance companies; and ( 4 ) muni¬ 
cipal monopolies, as street railways, gas and electric¬ 
lighting companies. 

159. Poll or Capitation Tax. The poll or capitation tax 
is a uniform contribution levied against individuals as such. 
This generally proves a very difficult tax to col- A defective 
lect; and it is an unjust form of tax, since the tax 
same amount is exacted from each person, irrespective of 
his ability to pay. Many commonwealths still retain the 
poll tax, the levy being two or three dollars upon all males 
over twenty-one years of age. 

160. Income Taxes. The income tax is a tax of a certain 
per cent on the annual clear income of each individual. 
Incomes below a certain amount are commonly character- 
exempt, and the rate of taxation is often progress- istics 
ive. 1 An income tax in some form is levied in seven States: 
Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, 
South Carolina, Virginia, and Wisconsin. 

161. License Taxes. License taxes include “all payments 
which the law makes a condition to the transaction of busi¬ 
ness, or to the following of a profession, a trade, Deflnltlon 

or any industrial calling.” Except in the South- andcharac- 
** * teristics 

ern States, where licenses are required for many 
different kinds of business, the license tax is generally im¬ 
posed upon occupations which present peculiar difficulties 


1 A tax rate is progressive when a larger per cent is assessed upon higher than upon lower 
values; it is proportioned when the rate is the same per cent on all property. 


116 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


from the point of view of police regulation, as the business 
of taxicab drivers, draymen, and peddlers. 

162. Franchise Taxes. A franchise is an exclusive right 
or privilege granted by government, as the right to sup- 
Definition ply g as > water, or electric light within a certain 
and purpose areaj or the right to use the streets of a city for 
the operation of a street-railway system. The chief value 
of street-railway property is not the cost of rolling stock 
and rails, but rather the exclusive right to use the streets 
for the purpose of carrying passengers. The franchise tax, 
then, is a tax upon a value arising from an exclusive priv¬ 
ilege — in other words, upon a value which society itself 
creates. Throughout the entire history of American muni¬ 
cipalities, franchises have been given away with utter 
disregard of their value and the public interest; but the 
present tendency is to secure for the city some return for 
the values arising from municipal growth and development. 

163. Reforms in Taxation. The reform in taxation most 
earnestly advocated by students of this subject consists in 

the assignment of definite and exclusive sources 
of income to each of the several grades of govern¬ 
ment. Thus to the federal government would be 
assigned the revenue from customs duties and excise taxes, 
supplemented in case of need by a federal income tax. 

State revenue should be derived from taxation of corpor¬ 
ations, inheritance taxes, and licenses. The effort to reach 
intangible personal property through the gen¬ 
eral property tax should be entirely abandoned, 
and the commonwealth should leave to local gov¬ 
ernments all taxation of real estate. In this way many of the 
defects of the general property tax would be remedied. The 
antiquated and unjust poll tax should be abandoned entirely. 

The revenue for rural local governments should be de¬ 
rived chiefly from the tax upon real estate, sup¬ 
plemented, if necessary, by a tax upon visible 
personal property. In cities large revenues should 


Sources 
of federal 
taxation 


Sources 
of State 
taxation 


Sources 
of local 
taxation 


STATE FINANCE 


117 


be derived from franchises and licenses, supplemented by 
a tax upon real estate. 

164. Borrowing Power of State Governments. In addi¬ 
tion to the income obtained from the foregoing sources, 
States may obtain revenue through the use of their credit, 
or in other words, may borrow money. State and local 
debts are generally incurred for the construction of public 
works, although sometimes they are due to deficiencies in 
taxation. Debt-making means the distribution of the bur¬ 
den of heavy expenditures over a later period, the cost of 
this postponement being the payment of the annual interest. 

Because of the recklessness of legislative bodies in con¬ 
tracting debts, most constitutions limit the amount of 
indebtedness that may be incurred by State and Constltu 
local governments to a certain per cent of the tionaiiim- 
valuation of taxable property. Limitations are 
often imposed as to the objects for which State governments 
may borrow money; and a number of constitutions provide 
that no money may be borrowed unless the law author¬ 
izing the loan be ratified by a popular vote. 

State governments generally borrow money through the 
issue of bonds, since the federal constitution expressly 
prohibits the commonwealths from issuing due- Method of 
bills, or paper notes of any kind intended to borrowing 
circulate as money. 1 Provision is commonly made for the 
redemption of bonds through the accumulation of a sink¬ 
ing-fund; that is, a portion of the annual income is set 
aside each year in a special fund which is invested in 
interest-bearing securities, and ultimately applied to the 
extinguishment of the debt. 

1 Constitution, Art. 1 , Sec. 10, Par. 1. 


118 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


GENERAL REFERENCES 

Adams, H. C., The Science of Finance (1905). 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), cn. xxxi. 

Bryce* James, The American Commonwealth (1908), i, ch. xliii. 

Bullock, C. J., Introduction to the Study of Economics (1900), ch. xvii. 

Fly, R. T., and Finley, John H., Taxation in American States and Cities. 

Munro, William B., The Government of the United States (1920), pp. 460-472. 
Plehn, Carl C., Introduction to Public Finance (1897). 


QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. What restrictions are imposed by your State constitution upon (a) the 
power to levy taxes; (b) the power to borrow money? 

2. Study the balance sheet or financial statement of your State govern¬ 
ment for last year, and report upon the following: (a) the amount and 
sources of revenue for the year, arranged in the order of their impor¬ 
tance; (b) the chief items of expenditure. 

3. Make a similar report concerning the financial statement of your city 
or county. 

4 . State which of the following kinds of taxes are levied in your State: 
general property tax, mortgage tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, 
poll or capitation tax, income tax, license or business tax, franchise 
tax. 

5. What is the total assessed valuation of property in your city or county? 
What is the tax rate for city, school, county, and State purposes? 
Taking the assessed valuation as a basis, figure the amount of revenue 
which each area would receive at the respective rates. 

6. Study the method of assessing property and of levying the general 
property tax in your community. Compare with the process described 
in Sections 153-155. 

7. Are there county and State boards of equalization in your common¬ 
wealth? If so, how are they chosen? How may an assessment be 
increased or decreased? 

8. Do rents tend to rise and fall as the tax rate increases or decreases? 
Why? 

9. What penalty is imposed in case of delinquent taxes? 

10. By whom are taxes assessed in your city or county? To whom paid? 

11. If corporation taxes are levied in your State, give the rate of the tax, 
and the basis upon which it is levied (capitalization, earnings, etc.). 

12. If inheritance taxes are levied, state the rate, exemptions, etc. Same 
for income taxes. 

13. Why are poll or capitation taxes objectionable? 

14. What is the amount of your State debt? Of your county debt? Of your 
city debt? Of your school-district debt? How are these debts to be 
paid? 

15. For what amount are bonds generally issued by your local government? 
What is the usual rate of interest? How are the bonds sold? 

16. For what purposes are governments justified in issuing bonds? Is it 
proper to issue bonds to defray current expenses? 

17. If possible, bring a government bond to class for examination and 
study. 


CHAPTER XII 

THE FORMATION OF THE CONSTITUTION 


165. The Constitutional Convention (1787). All the 

States except Rhode Island were represented in the Consti¬ 
tutional Convention, which held its sessions at „ 

Personnel 

Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17 , 1787 . of the 
Fifty-five delegates were at one time or another C0nventl011 
in attendance, including many of the ablest leaders and 
statesmen of the day. Of these nine had been signers of the 
Declaration of Independence; while all except twelve had 
served at some time in Congress, and eighteen were then 
members. Prominent among the delegates were George 
Washington, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, Edmund 
Randolph, Alexander Hamilton, James Wilson, Gouver- 
neur Morris, William Paterson, Elbridge Gerry, Roger 
Sherman, Oliver Ellsworth, John Dickinson, Luther Martin, 
Charles Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, and 
others of less note, but representing the best talent and 
thought of the country. 

166. Organization. The date of the convention had been 
originally fixed at May 14 , 1787 , but it was not until 
May 25 that delegates from a majority of the officers and 
States were present. On this date an organization P roce(lure 
was effected by unanimously choosing George Washington 
as president, and William Jackson, secretary. It was decided 
that the convention should sit behind closed doors, and 
that all of its proceedings should be kept secret. As in 
the Confederation Congress, each State was to have one 
vote; and seven States were to constitute a quorum. 

167. The Contest over Nationalism. The business of the 
convention commenced on May 29 , when Edmund Ran- 


120 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


dolph presented the so-called “Virginia plan” drafted by 
James Madison — the plan of government which was des- 
TheVir- tined to form the basis of the constitution, 
ginia plan The fundamental feature of this plan was, that 
it aimed to create a national government, consisting of 
legislative, executive, and judicial departments; and this 
government was to operate directly upon individuals, in¬ 
stead of upon the several States. Representation in both 
branches of the national legislature was to be proportioned 
either to the quotas of contributions by each State, or to 
the number of free inhabitants. The national legislative 
power was to extend to all matters concerning which the 
commonwealths separately were incompetent to legislate; 
that is, where individual State legislation would be incon¬ 
sistent with the public good. Furthermore, the national 
legislature was to have the important power of vetoing 
any State laws contravening the national constitution, or 
any treaty made by the national government. Thus the Vir¬ 
ginia plan contemplated the abandonment of the Articles 
of Confederation, and the establishment of a vigorous and 
efficient national government. 

Many members, especially the delegates from the smaller 
commonwealths, were opposed to the establishment of 
New Jersey such a government. They wished only to revise 
plan the Articles of Confederation, leaving the States 
sovereign as before in most practical concerns. They pro¬ 
posed to give Congress additional powers over commerce 
and revenue, and to establish a federal executive and a 
system of national courts; but they desired to reserve to 
the States all other powers not expressly delegated. The 
views of these delegates were embodied in resolutions 
submitted to the convention by William Paterson of New 
Jersey, and known as the New Jersey plan. 1 

168. The Great Compromise. In the debates that en- 

1 Two other plans were presented to the convention — one drawn by Charles Pinekne.v : 
the other by Alexander Hamilton. 


THE FORMATION OF THE CONSTITUTION 121 


sued, the question which aroused earnest and at times bit¬ 
ter discussion was that of representation according to popu¬ 
lation in both branches of the national legislature, 
on - , ... „ . Proportional 

small commonwealths like Connecticut and representa- 

New Jersey feared that proportional representa- tion 
tion would mean that the national government would be 
dominated by the large States. On the other hand, dele¬ 
gates from the large commonwealths claimed that popula¬ 
tion was the only just basis for representation, and that it 
was unfair for the forty thousand people of Delaware to have 
the same voice in the national council as the half-million 
people of Virginia. This dispute marked the most critical 
period in the proceedings, and for a time it seemed that 
the convention was on the point of being dissolved. The 
crisis was finally averted by a compromise introduced 
by Sherman of Connecticut providing that representation 
in the lower house should be proportioned to population, 
and that this branch should have the exclusive right to 
originate revenue bills; while in the upper house the States 
were to be equally represented. To this the large States 
reluctantly agreed, and the first great compromise of the 
constitution was effected. Assured of an equal voice in 
the upper house of the legislature, the small States were no 
longer opposed to the establishment of a strong national 
government; and from this point on the proceedings were 
more harmonious. 

169. The Three-Fifths Compromise. Another impor¬ 
tant compromise was over the question of representation 
in the lower house; here the line of division was Thel)asIsol 
between the slaveholding and the non-slavehold- representa- 
ing States. A considerable part of the population 
of the Southern States consisted of slaves, and the delegates 
from these commonwealths insisted that slaves should be 
counted in apportioning their quotas of Representatives; 
while the Northern delegates insisted that if the slaves 
were property, they could not be counted as persons. It 


122 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


had already been decided that direct taxes were to be ap¬ 
portioned upon the same basis as Representatives; and this 
dispute was finally compromised by the adoption of the 
three-fifths rule, according to which five slaves were to 
be counted as the equivalent of three white persons for the 
purpose of apportioning both Representatives and direct 
taxes. This compromise proved in the outcome a distinct 
advantage to the South; for direct taxes were levied only 
five times prior to the Civil War, while during this entire 
period the South by virtue of its slave population had the 
benefit of a largely increased representation in Congress. 

170. Navigation Acts and the Slave Trade. A third com¬ 
promise also had its basis in the difference between the 
Commercial occupations and domestic institutions of the 
Sfding V6 North and the South. Commerce and shipbuild- 
interests i n g were the chief industries of New England; 
while at the South, agriculture carried on by slave labor 
was practically the sole occupation. The commercial States 
desired regulation of commerce by the national government 
in order that American commerce and shipping might be 
protected from foreign discrimination; but certain slave¬ 
holding States — especially South Carolina — feared that 
unless a two-thirds vote was required to pass laws relating 
to commerce, the national government might tax or even 
entirely prohibit the slave trade. The South also feared 
that Congress might tax exports, thus laying a heavy bur¬ 
den upon its agriculture staples. The problem was finally 
solved by vesting in Congress power to regulate commerce 
by a majority vote, but forbidding the enactment of any 
law prohibiting the importation of slaves prior to 1808 (al¬ 
though a per capita tax of ten dollars might be levied upon 
each slave imported). The taxation of exports by the 
States or by Congress was absolutely forbidden. 

171. Other Compromises and Modifications. Many other 
adjustments were found necessary in order to settle con¬ 
flicting views among the delegates, so that it may indeed be 


THE FORMATION OF THE CONSTITUTION 123 


said that the constitution is made up of a series of compro¬ 
mises. By one of these the election of the President was 
entrusted to the electoral college, and by another „ 
the presidential term was fixed at four years in- and term of 
stead of seven. The resolutions offered by Ran- President 
dolph formed the framework of the constitution; but with 
these were incorporated six provisions from the New Jersey 
plan, together with perhaps twenty suggestions emanating 
from Pinckney. 

One modification of the original Virginia plan is espe¬ 
cially important, namely, the rejection of the proposal to 
confer upon the general government the right to Constitution 
negative State laws. In its place was substituted damentaT" 
a clause from the New Jersey plan declaring the law 
national constitution, laws, and treaties to be the supreme 
law of the land, binding upon the judges in every State, 
“anything in the constitution or laws of any State to the 
contrary notwithstanding.” 1 This provision lessened the 
danger of a clash between federal and State governments; 
for the decision in case of a conflict of laws is made a judi¬ 
cial, rather than a political question. Since the federal 
constitution is the fundamental law of the land, all other 
laws must conform thereto; and the constitution, like other 
laws, is enforceable in the courts. The federal judiciary 
has jurisdiction over all cases arising under the federal 
constitution, laws, and treaties; and therefore has the final 
decision on all questions of constitutional interpretation. 
No other single provision of the constitution has worked 
more successfully in practice, or received more praise from 
foreign critics. This clause has made our government es¬ 
sentially one of law, rather than a government of men — 
thus ending the struggle commenced by the English barons 
against King John at Runnymede. 

172. Sources of the Constitution. The federal constitu¬ 
tion has been characterized by a great British statesman 2 

1 Constitution, Art. vi, Par. 2. * Gladstone, in North American Review, cxxvii, p. 185. 


124 GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 

as “the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time 
by the brain and purpose of man”; and for many years the 
An adapta- generally accepted theory was, that a great part 
icaiexperi- our constitution was invented by the conven- 
ence tion of 1787 . Historical research has since shown 

that nearly every provision of the federal constitution had 
its origin in British or colonial precedents. The great 
achievement of the federal convention was in its skillful 
adaptation of former political experience to existing con¬ 
ditions. The British constitution, and still more, the co¬ 
lonial charters and State constitutions, furnished precedents 
of the highest value. By carefully working over the ma¬ 
terials of old forms, rejecting that which had been tried 
and found wanting, moulding together familiar features 
that had proved valuable, a constitution was framed which 
is essentially a work of adaptation, enlargement, and em¬ 
phasis, rather than one of creation. This very fact is the 
greatest tribute to the far-sighted craftsmen of the federal 
convention; for if the new instrument of government had 
not been deeply rooted in the political experience of the 
race, it would not have outlived the constitutions of so 
many European states, surviving the political and economic 
changes of more than a century, and meeting the supreme 
tests of foreign invasion and of civil war. 

173. Completion of the Convention’s Work. On Sep¬ 
tember 8, the provisions of the constitution already agreed 
« upon were sent to a committee of revision. A 

Final draft 

prominent member of this committee was Gou- 
verneur Morris, to whose pen is due the lucid style and 
orderly arrangement of the instrument. Four days later 
the constitution came back for final consideration and re¬ 
vision, and after a few minor changes it was completed 
September 17 , 1787 . Several delegates had meanwhile 
left the convention, and only forty-two of the fifty-five 
members were present. Of these, thirty-nine signed the 
constitution, and Washington as president of the conven- 


THE FORMATION OF THE CONSTITUTION 125 

tion was authorized to transmit the document to the Con¬ 
gress of the Confederation, with the recommendation that 
the question of its adoption be submitted to conventions 
of delegates chosen by the people of the several States. 
Thereupon the convention adjourned, and the great ques¬ 
tion of ratification was before the people for decision. 

174. The Contest over Ratification. The new constitu¬ 
tion was not to become effective unless ratified by at least 
nine of the thirteen States; and as soon as it was published, 
the contest over ratification commenced. The opponents of 
the constitution declared that it gave too much power to 
the national government at the expense of the States, and 
that its adoption would sound the death knell of popular 
liberty. The Federalists, as the supporters of the new con¬ 
stitution styled themselves, defended the proposed plan 
with great ability, pointing to existing conditions as an 
unanswerable argument in favor of a stronger government. 
The Delaware Convention was the first to ratify the con¬ 
stitution (December 6, 1787 ). Others soon followed, and 
after some delay the ninth State, New Hampshire, accepted 
the constitution (June 21, 1788 ), thus insuring its adoption. 
Virginia and New York soon brought the number up to 
eleven; while North Carolina and Rhode Island gave a tardy 
and reluctant assent in 1789 and 1790 , respectively. 

175. Inauguration of the New Government. After nine 
States had ratified, the Congress of the Confederation 
adopted a resolution fixing the first Wednesday in March 
as the date of the inauguration of the new government. 
As the first Wednesday was the fourth of March, that date 
became fixed for the beginning and the end of the presiden¬ 
tial and congressional terms. The city of New York was 
named as the temporary seat of government. After some 
delay, owing to the fact that a quorum was not present in 
either branch, the two houses assembled on April 6, 1789 , 
for the purpose of counting the electoral vote. It was found 
that Washington was the unanimous choice for President, 


126 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


while John Adams with one half the electoral votes became 
Vice-President. On April 30 , Washington was inaugurated, 
and the new government was fully established. 

GENERAL REFERENCES 

Bancroft, George, History of the United States (1883-1885), vr, 195-474. 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), ch. in. 

- Readings in American Government and Politics (1910), ch. in. 

Curtis, George T., Constitutional History of the United States (1903). 

Farrand, Max, “Compromises of the Constitution,” American Historical 

Review , rx, pp. 479-489. 

Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, The Federalist (ed. by Lodge, H. C., 1904). 

Hart, A. B., American History told by Contemporaries (1906), in, chs. 9-12. 

Landon, Judson S., The Constitutional History and Government of the 

United States (1905), pp. 65-124. 

McLaughlin, A. C., The Confederation and the Constitution (1905), chs. 

xi-xvin. 

McMaster, John B., History of the People of the United States (1907), i, 

pp. 390-453. 

Munro. William B., The Government of the United States (1920), pp. 1-43. 

Story, Joseph, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States. 

Thorpe, Francis N., The Constitutional History of the United States (1901). 

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. Discuss the reasons which made a new constitution imperative. ( The 
Federalist, nos. xv, xvi, xxi, xxn.) 

2. In what respect was it fortunate that the Articles of Confederation 
could not be recdily amended? 

3. Discuss the efforts to amend the Articles of Confederation. (Kaye, 
P. L., Readings, pp. 39-44.) 

4. Mention an important public service performed by each of the dele¬ 
gates named in Section 165. 

5. Which were the “small States” at the time of the Convention? 

6. Compare the New Jersey plan with the Articles of Confederation. 
In what respects was the New Jersey plan an improvement? 

7. Compare the Virginia plan with the federal constitution, noting which 
features of the Virginia plan were adopted and which ones eliminated. 
(Madison, Debates, pp. 59-64.) 

8. Explain how the constitution corrected the chief defects of the gov¬ 
ernment under the Articles of Confederation. 

9. Was the compromise on the subject of representation an equitable one? 

10. Prepare a report upon the several plans proposed in the convention 
for electing the President. 

11. Point out analogies between our constitution and that of Great Brit¬ 
ain; between the federal constitution and the early State constitutions. 

12. Prepare a report upon the contest over ratification. (Landon, J. S., 
Constitutional History of the United States, pp. 89-124.) 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE AMENDMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE 

CONSTITUTION 


176. Modification of the Original Constitution. The 

federal constitution as it exists to-day differs little in form 
from the instrument framed in 1787 ; but in reality Amendment, 
the original constitution has been modified so as tion^m?" 
to keep pace with the great social and industrial usage 
changes of the last century. This modification has been 
effected in three ways: (1) by amendment, in accordance 
with the method provided in the instrument itself; (2) by 
interpretation, that is, the construction placed upon its 
terms by the three departments of government, especially 
the judiciary; ( 3 ) by the development of a body of political 
usages and customs, 1 which, although not in conflict with 
its terms, materially modify its spirit and workings. 

177. Process of Constitutional Amendment. Of these 

three ways of modifying the constitution, that by amend¬ 
ment is the most direct and effective, but also the _ , 

most difficult of application. Article V of the andrati- 
constitution provides two methods by which ttcation 
amendments may be proposed: first, by a vote of two thirds 
of each house of Congress; 2 or second, by a convention 
called by Congress on application of the legislatures of 
two thirds of the States. Amendments proposed by either 
method must be ratified by three fourths of the States. 
This ratification may be made either by the State legisla¬ 
tures, or by special State conventions, according as Con¬ 
gress proposes the one or the other mode of ratification. 


1 Sometimes called the “conventions” of the constitution. 

* The President’s approval is not necessary to a proposed constitutional amendment. 


128 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Thus far seventeen amendments have been made to the 
constitution, all of which have been proposed by Congress 
and ratified by the State legislatures. 

178. The Rill of Rights. In the contest over the ratifica¬ 
tion of the constitution, one of the objections most fre¬ 
purpose quently heard was the lack of a bill of rights guar- 
and scope an teeing the liberties of the individual, as well as 
the rights of the States, against federal oppression. Accord¬ 
ingly, at its first session in 1789 , Congress prepared and 
submitted to the States twelve amendments placing express 
limitations upon the powers of the federal government. 
Ten of these were ratified by the requisite number of States, 
thereby becoming a part of the constitution ( 1791 ). Of 
these amendments, the first eight are designed to guarantee 
to individuals certain fundamental rights concerning which 
the constitution itself makes no provision. The ninth and 
tenth amendments confirm the principle that the govern¬ 
ment of the LTnited States is one of enumerated powers, 
those powers not conferred by the constitution being re¬ 
served to the States or to the people. 

179. The Eleventh Amendment. The eleventh amend¬ 
ment was adopted in 1798 , in consequence of the decision of 
Federal the United States Supreme Court that a State 
jurisdiction pk e an individual was liable to be sued in a federal 
court by a citizen of another State or of a foreign country. 
The eleventh amendment reversed this construction by 
providing that the federal judicial power should not be 
construed to extend to any suit against a State by citizens 
of another State or foreign country. 

180. The Twelfth Amendment. The twelfth amend¬ 
ment introduced a change in the method of electing the 
Presidential President and Vice-President, and was adopted in 
elections consequence of the election of 1800 . The original 
section of the constitution provided that electors were to 
cast their ballots for two persons without specifying which 
should be President and which Vice-President. The influ- 


DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION 129 

ence of the party system made it necessary to modify this 
provision, so that the electors could designate explicitly 
their choice for each office; for otherwise a tie vote might 
result. Accordingly the twelfth amendment, adopted in 
1804 , provided that the electors should cast separate ballots 
for each officer. 

181. Amendments since the Civil War. The reconstruc¬ 
tion amendments (the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth) 
were added to the constitution in consequence of Slaver7 
the Civil War. The thirteenth amendment abol- citizenship, 
ished slavery throughout the United States and and suffrage 
all places subject to its jurisdiction. The fourteenth defines 
citizenship, and seeks to prevent the States from discrim¬ 
inating against certain classes of citizens. The fifteenth 
declares that the right of citizens of the United States to 
vote shall not be denied or abridged on account of race, 
color, or previous condition of servitude. 

The power of Congress to levy an income tax having 
been denied, the sixteenth amendment was Recent 
added in 1913 , expressly authorizing Congress amendmeiit3 
to tax incomes. 

The seventeenth amendment (adopted in 1913 ) changes 
the method of electing United States Senators. Prior to its 
adoption, Senators were chosen by the legislatures of their 
respective States. The seventeenth amendment provides that 
they shall be elected directly by the voters of each State. 

The eighteenth amendment (adopted in 1919 ) forbids the 
manufacture or sale of liquor within the United States. The 
nineteenth amendment (adopted in 1920 ) grants the ballot 
to women on equal terms with men. 

182. Constitutional Changes through Interpretation. The 
constitution has also been modified and expanded through 
interpretation, especially through the construe- influence of 
tion placed upon its terms by the United States l udiciar y 
Supreme Court. The importance of this tribunal in the 
development of the federal constitution can hardly be over- 


ISO 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


estimated. “The constitution speaks of the age in which it 
was written, more than a century ago. The court expounds 
it in the language of its own age, holding fast to the old 
words and powers, but expanding them to keep pace with 
the expansion of our country, our people, our enterprises, 
industries, and civilization. Great controversies arise over 
questions and conditions impossible for the framers of the 
constitution to have anticipated. What would they have 
thought, if one had asked them whether a State law regu¬ 
lating the transmission or taxation of telegraphic messages 
would be unconstitutional, because encroaching upon the 
power of Congress to regulate commerce among the States? 
Plainly, ,a constitution made a century ago might well be 
expected to prove inadequate to the wants of the ever in¬ 
creasing population of the United States. That such is not 
the case is remarkable evidence of its wisdom, and also of 
the wisdom of its exposition.” 1 

183. The Doctrine of Implied Powers. In the interpre¬ 
tation and expansion of the constitution, the doctrine of 
Basis of im- implied powers has been of the utmost impor- 
piied powers tance. The Supreme Court has uniformly held 
that the federal government possesses not only the powers 
expressly granted in the constitution, but also those which 
are included within, or necessarily implied from, powers 
expressly granted. In other words, where it appears that 
a power has been granted to the federal government, the 
constitution is to be liberally construed so as to give effect 
to the grant. This construction is authorized by the con 
stitution itself, which declares that Congress shall have 
power to make all laws which shall be “necessary and 
proper” for carrying into execution the powers conferred 
upon the federal government. 2 

184. Chief Sources of Implied Powers. The doctrine of 
implied powers has been developed chiefly in connection 

1 Landon, J. S., The Constitutional Bistory and Government of the United States, p. 273. 

* Constitution, Art. i, Sec. 8, Par. 18. 


DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION 131 


with three express powers: the taxing and borrowing power, 
the power to regulate foreign and interstate commerce, 
and the war power. The Supreme Court has Taxingan 
held that under the taxing and borrowing power, borrowing 
Congress may create a system of national banks, powers 
issue paper money and make it a legal tender for all debts, 
and establish a tariff system. 

Similarly, the power to regulate commerce has been held 
to authorize laws regulating the transportation of goods and 
passengers between the States of the Union, or commercial 
between the United States and foreign countries; power 
restricting or prohibiting immigration; establishing an In¬ 
terstate Commerce Commission with large powers of control 
over interstate traffic; and providing for the construction 
of public works in aid of commerce. 

The war power has proved one of the most elastic of con¬ 
stitutional powers. Under this power, territory may be 
acquired and governed in accordance with the The war 
laws of Congress, as in case of the territory ceded power 
at the close of the Mexican and Spanish-American wars. 1 
The most striking illustration of the scope of the war power 
was during our great Civil War, when President Lincoln 
exercised almost despotic powers with the sanction of Con¬ 
gress and the nation. 

185. Constitutional Changes through Usage. Our con¬ 
stitution has also been largely developed and modified by 
usage, that is, by long-continued customs, rules, Influence 
and political practices, which have sprung up in ofusago 
connection with the constitution. These usages or customs 
are not laws, since they are not recognized or enforced 
by the courts; but they have almost the force of law, and 
often materially modify the spirit and workings of the writ¬ 
ten constitution. 

186. Influence of Usage upon the Executive. One of 


1 Territory may also be acquired under the treaty-making power; e.g., the purchase of 
Louisiana, the Gadsden purchase, and the purchase of Alaska. 


132 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


the most important of these usages or understandings has 
entirely changed the position of the presidential electors. 
Presidential The framers of the constitution intended that 
electors the electors should exercise a wise discretion 
in choosing the chief executive. In the first two presidential 
elections this intention was realized; but since 1800 it has 
been clearly understood that the electors shall not exer¬ 
cise independent judgment, but shall merely ratify the 
choice of the political party to which they belong. No law 
prevents an elector from voting contrary to the wishes of 
those who elect him, but such an act would be deemed a 
most serious breach of public trust. In this way the elec¬ 
toral system as originally planned has been entirely super¬ 
seded by a usage or understanding requiring electors merely 
to register the vote of their party. 

Another unwritten rule having almost equal weight is that 
limiting the reeligibility of the President. The constitution 
Reeiigibii P^ aces no restriction whatever on his reeligibility. 
ltyoJPres- Washington declined a third term, partly on the 
ground that unlimited reeligibility is not in har¬ 
mony with republican institutions. The example thus set 
was followed by Jefferson, and public opinion has indorsed 
the precedent so strongly that it is now unwritten law that 
a President may not serve more than two terms. 

The President’s power of appointment has likewise been 
largely modified through certain usages. In the case of 
Power of important appointments, 1 the President is gen- 
appointment era Hy obliged by custom to confer with the 
Senators and Representatives from the State where the 
appointee lives. In other words, Senators (if of the same 
political party as the President) claim the right to control 
the federal patronage of their respective States. 

Another important constitutional understanding is that 
•with reference to the President’s power of removal. The 
constitution makes no provision for removals except through 

1 Except cabinet appointments, which are generally confirmed as a matter of course. 


DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION 133 


the process of impeachment; and the question early arose 
whether the consent of the Senate was necessary to the re¬ 
moval of officers appointed with the consent of p OW erof 
that body. The First Congress adopted the view removal 
that the power of removal belongs to the President alone, 
and this is now the settled rule upon this subject. 

Usage has likewise created the President’s cabinet, an 
institution unknown to the written constitution. 1 Custom 
alone has determined that in addition to their ^ b . t 
duties as administrative officials, the heads of the 
various executive departments shall meet with the Presi¬ 
dent as an advisory board, popularly known as the cabinet. 

187. Usages affecting Congress. Congress, as well as 
the federal executive, has been affected by important 
usages. Foremost among these is the committee The commit- 
system of legislation, which prevails in both teo system 
branches of Congress. The committee system is entirely an 
outgrowth of custom, with no basis whatever in the written 
constitution; but it affects profoundly the character and 
work of the federal lawmaking body. 

The great political power of the Speaker of the House 
of Representatives is likewise due solely to usage. The con¬ 
stitution contemplates merely a presiding officer 
or moderator, like the President of the Senate; 
but political practice has decreed that the Speaker, through 
his control over debate and his position as a party leader, 
shall wield more influence in government than any other 
man except the President. 

An almost unvarying custom has added an additional 
qualification to those prescribed by the constitu- Resldence ol 
tion for Representative. This is the unwritten Represent- 
rule requiring residence within the district 
which he represents, as well as residence within the State. 


The Speaker 


1 The only reference to this subject is the clause providing that “ the President may re¬ 
quire the opinion in writing of the principal officer in each of the executive departments 
upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices.” — Constitution, Art. 
H., Sec. 2, Par. 1. 


134 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


188. Constitutional Modifications through the Party 
System. The development of the constitution has been 
Party profoundly affected by our system of political 
usages parties. Although parties have grown up inde¬ 
pendently of the constitution and are nowhere contem¬ 
plated by its provisions, it is through the party system that 
the machinery of government is carried on. Thus through 
the agency of parties the Presidency has been made a rep¬ 
resentative institution, the candidates for that office being 
chosen in party conventions, and voted for by electors 
who merely register the choice of the voters. The influ¬ 
ence of the party system has also contributed largely to 
the importance of the Speakership; and partisan motives 
determine the composition of congressional committees, 
and profoundly affect legislation. Managing committees, 
local, State, and national, the party convention and the 
party caucus — in short, all the machinery of the party 
system — have long been fully established as part of the 
unwritten constitution. These and other usages form an 
integral part of our constitutional system; so that it may 
indeed be said that the written constitution provides only 
the skeleton of government, which custom and usage have 
transformed into a living organism. 

GENERAL REFERENCES 

Ames, H. V., “Amendments to the Constitution” (1891), American His¬ 
torical Association Papers, v, 253-263. 

Beard, C. A., American Government and, Politics (1910), ch. rv. 

- Readings in American Government and Politics (1910), ch. iv. 

Black, H. C., Handbook of American Constitutional Law (1897), pp. 41-45. 
Borgeaud, C., Adoption and Amendment of Constitutions (1895), pts. i, hi. 
Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth (1907), i, chs. xxxi-xxxv. 
Burgess, John W., Political Science and Comparative Constitutional Law 
(1902), i, pp. 142-154, 184-252. 

Cooley, Thomas M., Constitutional Law (1898), ch. xn. 

Hamilton, Alexander, “Opinion on the Constitutionality of a National 
Bank” (Macdonald’s Select Documents, h, pp. 81-98). 

Landon, J. S., The Constitutional History and Government of the United 
States (1905), ch. xv. 

Munro, William B., The Government of the United States (1920), pp. 57-70. 
Reinsch, P. S., Readings on the American Federal Government (1909), ch. xv. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION 135 


Schouler, James, Constitutional Studies (1904), pp. 190-203. 

Story, Joseph, Commentaries on the Constitution (5th ed., 1905), secs. 

1857-1909, 1915-1974. 

Tiedemann, C. G., The Unwritten Constitution of the United States (1890). 

Tucker, John R., The Constitution of the United States (1899), n, ch. xi. 

Woodburn, J. A., The American Republic and its Government (1908), pp. 

86-93, 122, 274, 391. 

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. Mention some of the principal constitutional amendments which have 
been proposed but not ratified. 

2. Is the process of amending the federal constitution too difficult? Give 
your reasons. 

3. Contrast the process of amending our constitution with the method of 
amending the British constitution. 

4. Compare the first eight amendments to the federal constitution with 
the bill of rights in your State constitution. 

5. Why impose express limitations upon the federal government if it can 
exercise only those powers which are expressly granted, or necessarily 
implied from the grant of express powers? 

6. Prepare a report upon the decision in the case of Chisholm v. Georgia 
(Section 179). 

7. Give an account of the election of 1800, and explain why the twelfth 
amendment was necessary. 

8. Prepare a report upon the adoption of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and 
fifteenth amendments. 

9. Discuss the modification of the constitution by interpretation. (Bryce, 
James, The American Commonwealth, i, ch. xxxiti.) 

10. Discuss the development of the constitution by usage. (Bryce, James, 
The American Commonwealth, i, ch. xxxiv.) 

11. Prepare a report upon the usages or conventions of the British con¬ 
stitution. (Dicey, A. V., The Law of the Constitution (1902), ch. xiv.) 

12. Suggested readings on constitutional development: Kaye, P. L., 
Readings, pp. 51-73. 


CHAPTER XIV 

RELATIONS OF FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS 

189. The Federal System. The great problem before the 
Constitutional Convention was not only to create a strong 
National national government, but so to adjust its relations 
and state to the existing State governments as to produce 

a harmonious whole, this was accomplished 
through the adoption of the federal system under which 
two distinct governmental authorities exist, the one na¬ 
tional, the other State. Each of these agencies is intended 
to perform that part of the work of government for which 
it is best adapted, and both rest upon the same ultimate 
authority — that of the people of the United States. It 
was John Dickinson who first compared the federal plan 
to the solar system, pointing out that the national govern¬ 
ment resembled the sun and the States the planets, each 
moving in its respective orbit, a deviation from which 
would imperil the entire system. 

190. General Distribution of Powers. In the division of 
powers between the national and State governments, the 
Principle constitution assigns to the general government 
of division those functions which are essentially national in 
character, while the States are left in control of matters 
which directly concern their people as communities. Since 
it would be impossible to name in the federal constitution 
all the powers of both governmental agencies, only those 
of the national government are enumerated, all others — 
except those specifically prohibited — being left to the 
State governments or reserved to the people. 

Accordingly the powers of government under our con¬ 
stitution may be grouped into five classes: — 


THE FEDERAL SYSTEM 


137 


(a) Those vested exclusively in the national government. 

(b) Those reserved exclusively to the States. 

(c) Those powers (generally called concurrent) which 
may be exercised by either the national or State govern' 
ments. 

(d) Powers denied to the national government. 

(e) Powers denied to the State governments. 



The ellipse represents the sum total 
of governmental powers. Circle a repre¬ 
sents powers delegated to the national 
government; circle b, powers reserved to 
the States ; segment c, concurrent powers; 
segment d, powers prohibited to the na¬ 
tional government; segment e, powers 
prohibited to the States. — Adapted 
from Tiedemann, C. G., The Unwritten 
Constitution of the United States. 


DISTRIBUTION OF GOVERNMENTAL POWERS 


191. Powers of the National Government. To the na¬ 
tional government is entrusted control of foreign relations 
in general, including the making of war and peace; main¬ 
tenance of an army and navy; regulation of foreign and in¬ 
terstate commerce; control of territories, naturalization, and 
bankruptcy; of coinage, currency, weights and measures; 
of post offices, post roads, copyrights and patents; the 
establishment of federal courts; the punishment of offenses 
against federal law; the protection of citizens against un¬ 
lawful or discriminating legislation by any State; and the 
right to borrow money and to tax for national purposes. 

In exercising these powers, the authority of the national 
government is direct and immediate, operating not through 
the agency of the States but directly upon indi- Direct 
viduals. Thus the national government does not authorit y 
call on the States for funds, but levies its own taxes. Nor 
does it rely on the States to execute its commands; for the 
decrees of the national courts are executed by federal 




138 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


marshals, and in case of need the whole military power of the 
Union may be employed against persons who resist its laws. 

192. Classification of Federal Powers. The powers of 
the national government are sometimes classified as express 
_ . and implied. Express powers include those ex- 

implied pressly enumerated in the constitution; while 
implied powers are those which by reasonable 
implication are included in, or result from, those expressly 
granted. Implied powers have the direct sanction of the 
constitution, which declares that Congress shall have power 
to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for 
carrying into execution the powers vested in the national 
government. 1 

193* Interpretation of Federal Powers. Since the na¬ 
tional government possesses only those powers expressly 
Rule of or impliedly granted by the federal constitution, 
construction follows that all doubts as to the existence of 

any power must be settled by reference to the terms of that 
instrument. In determining what acts are necessary and 
proper in the exercise of enumerated powers, a liberal 
interpretation has been applied by the United States Su¬ 
preme Court, the final arbiter upon constitutional ques¬ 
tions. “Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope 
of the constitution, and all means which are appropriate, 
which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not pro¬ 
hibited, but consist with the letter and spirit of the constitu¬ 
tion, are constitutional.” 2 

Although the federal government is one of limited rather 
than of general powers, yet in the exercise of the powers 

supremacy g rante d it is supreme, and any conflict between 
of federal federal and State authority must be settled upon 
this principle. The language of the constitution 
is clear and unequivocal in pointing out the supremacy 
of federal law: “This constitution, and the laws of the 


1 Constitution, Art. 1 , Sec. 8, Par. 18. 

2 Chief Justice Marshall in McCulloch v. Maryland, 4 Wheaton, 816. 


THE FEDERAL SYSTEM 


1S9 


United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, 
and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the 
authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law 
of the land; and the judges in every State shall be bound 
thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any State 
to the contrary notwithstanding.” 1 

In order that the supremacy of the federal government 
may be maintained without danger of encroachment on 
the part of the States, the final interpretation as Final arbiter 
to its powers rests with the federal courts. While uonTuues- 
State courts may be called upon to construe the 110113 
federal constitution as a part of the written law, the final 
decision in such cases is for the Supreme Court of the 
United States; and the interpretation of this court when 
rendered becomes a part of the supreme law, binding upon 
all other courts, and upon all individuals throughout the 
Union. 

194. Powers of State Governments. In contrast with 
the federal government, the State government is one of 
general powers. In determining whether a power General 
is rightfully exercised by a State, the question is nature of 
not whether the power is granted, but rather powers 
whether it is withheld. In other words, the States possess 
all powers of government except those which their own 
constitutions, or the federal constitution, explicitly or by 
plain inference withhold. They are the ordinary govern¬ 
ments of the country, the federal government being its 
instrument only for particular purposes. 

Thus the States have a large field of governmental action, 
important not only from the variety of subjects included, 
but also because of the direct relation of these classes 
powers to the individual. Practically the entire 0l P° wers 
body of criminal and private law is regulated by the States, 
including laws against crime, and those regulating the per¬ 
sonal and property rights of individuals. The States also 

1 United. States Constitution, Art. vi, Par. 2. 


140 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


have complete charge of local government, of education, 
and of the elective franchise. They create and regulate 
corporations, supervise domestic commerce, make legal 
regulations concerning capital and labor, exercise the far- 
reaching police power, care for the weak and dependent 
classes, regulate marriage and divorce, maintain militias, 
establish systems of courts, borrow money, and levy taxes. 

195. Concurrent Powers. Most of the powers granted 
to Congress are vested exclusively in that body. The power 
Exclusive vested in Congress is exclusive if it is made so by 
powers the express language of the constitution; or if 
the constitution confers the power upon Congress and pro¬ 
hibits the States from exercising a like authority; or if the 
subject-matter of the power is national in character, and can 
be governed only by a uniform system. 

In a few cases the powers granted to Congress are not 
exclusive, but concurrent. In this field the States may 
Concurrent P ass laws which are valid until Congress sees fit 
powers to exercise the power with which it is invested, 
whereupon State laws are suspended, either wholly or so 
far as they are inconsistent with federal legislation. Thus 
the States control the subject of weights and measures in 
the absence of congressional action. Similarly, the States 
have passed laws on the subject of bankruptcy during those 
periods of our history when there was no federal bankruptcy 
act. The States may also provide by law for the punish¬ 
ment of counterfeiting, this being an offense against the 
State as well as the nation. 

196. Prohibitions upon the National Government. The 
principal limitations imposed on the federal government 
General are set forth in Article 1, Section 9 , of the federal 
nature constitution, and in the first ten amendments. 
Most of these restrictions are designed either to protect 
individual liberty, or else to safeguard the States against 
discriminating legislation on the part of the federal govern¬ 
ment. 


THE FEDERAL SYSTEM 


141 


197. Prohibitions upon State Governments. Prohibi¬ 
tions imposed upon the States are contained in Article 1, 
Section 10 , and in the thirteenth, fourteenth, and Express 
fifteenth amendments. Of these limitations, the limitati ° na 
first class is designed to prevent the States from infringing 
upon the sphere of the national government. For example, 
no State may enter into any treaty, alliance, or confedera¬ 
tion. A second class of express limitations aims to secure 
private and political rights from encroachment on the part 
of the States. Thus no State may pass any bill of attainder, 
ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of con¬ 
tracts. 

In addition to the foregoing express prohibitions, certain 
other limitations are implied either from express provisions 
of the federal constitution, or from the nature implied 
of the relation between federal and State govern- limitation s 
ments. Thus in some cases the powers granted to Congress 
are exclusive, either because so declared in express terms 
(as the power to exercise exclusive legislation over the seat 
of government); or because the subject-matter of the power 
is national in character, demanding a uniform system, and 
necessarily precluding any form of State action (as the 
power to establish a uniform system of naturalization). 
Again, from the nature of the relation between the States 
and the federal government, it follows that there is an im¬ 
plied prohibition on the part of the States to place any tax 
upon the instruments or means selected by the federal gov¬ 
ernment to carry out its powers. 

198. Privileges of States in the Union. Foremost among 
the important privileges belonging to States as members 
of the federal Union is that of representation in R epr esenta- 
Congress, in which body each State is entitled to tlon 

two Senators, and a number of Representatives in propor¬ 
tion to its population. Similarly, each State has a right 
to participate in the election of a President by choosing 
electors for that purpose. 


142 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Another important privilege is the guaranty by the 
United States to each State of a republican form of govern- 

Guaranty of men ^* By republican government is meant one 
republican in which those exercising authority act in a repre- 
government sen |- a ^j ve ca p ac ity, the ultimate power of control 

being vested in the people themselves. Republican govern¬ 
ment in a State might be threatened through invasion by 
some foreign power, and an attempt to establish a govern¬ 
ment under its authority; or by an insurrection having 
for its object the overthrow of the existing government. 
In either case it would be the duty of the federal govern¬ 
ment to interpose, and to protect the people of the State 
by the employment of the military force of the United 
States. 

Each State has the right of territorial integrity — it 
cannot be divided without its consent. Finally, the States 
other have certain important financial privileges. In 
privileges the p a st the United States has on several occa¬ 
sions distributed considerable sums of money among them, 
as well as public lands of immense value; while at the present 
time the federal government makes annual appropriations 
for the support of agricultural stations, and of State agri¬ 
cultural and mechanical colleges. 

199. Duties of the States in the Union. The privileges 
of the States as members of the Union involve correspond- 
To help ing duties. In the first place, the States are un- 
naUonai 1 der obligation to keep up the forms of the national 
government government by choosing presidential electors 
electing Senators and Representatives, and fixing the fran¬ 
chise which qualifies persons to vote for members of the 
House of Representatives. 

The second and most important duty of the States is to 
remain in the Union. Before the Civil War, those who 
To remain championed the doctrine of State sovereignty 
in the Union ar g Ue j that the States were and had always been 

sovereign and independent; and that the Union was a vol- 


THE FEDERAL SYSTEM 


143 


untary compact from which any State might withdraw 
if it chose. Upon this issue the Civil War was waged, and 
the result of that conflict established forever the principle 
that the Union is not a compact between States, but a per¬ 
manent government established by the people of the United 
States, and alterable only through constitutional amend- 
ment. In the language of Chief Justice Chase, “the con¬ 
stitution, in all its provisions, looks to an indestructible 
Union, composed of indestructible States.” There can be 
no such thing as peaceful secession; once a State is in the 
Union there is “no place for reconsideration, or revoca¬ 
tion, except through revolution, or through consent of the 
States.” 1 Hence the ordinances of secession adopted by 
the Southern States were null and void, and those States 
remained legally members of the Union, although the out¬ 
come of the Civil War practically reduced them to the 
position of conquered territory. 

Finally, the States have other miscellaneous duties to¬ 
ward the Union, many of which have been already men¬ 
tioned. They are to maintain a militia over which the 
federal government has large powers of control; and they 
are under obligation not to enact legislation in conflict with 
federal law. 

200. Interstate Obligations. In addition to their obliga¬ 
tions towards the federal government, the States owe im¬ 
portant duties to each other as equal members of Equal 
the same Union. By a provision of the federal privileges 
constitution the citizens of each State are “en- ofcitlzens 
titled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens in the 
several States.” 2 The purpose of this provision is to pro¬ 
mote the unity of the American people by preventing dis¬ 
criminations against citizens of other States. This clause 
secures to the citizen of one State the right to travel about 
freely, or to settle or trade within the limits of any other; 
to acquire and hold property in any commonwealth, and to 

1 Texas v. White, 7 Wall. 700. 2 Constitution, Art. iv, Sec. 2, Par. 1. 


144 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


be exempt from any higher taxes or other burdens than are 
imposed upon citizens of that State; also to claim the pro¬ 
tection of any State government, and to have access to 
its courts. 

Political privileges, as the right to vote, to hold office, 
ind to serve on juries, are of course not shared, these rights 
political being properly reserved by each State for its own 
privileges citizens. A State may also limit the right to 
practice law to its own citizens, as well as the right to share 
in the use of the common property of the State (for exam¬ 
ple, to fish in the public waters, or to hunt game within the 
State limits). 


201. Public Acts and Judicial Proceedings. The federal 

constitution provides that “full faith and credit shall be 
Proving given in each State to the public acts, records, 
public and judicial proceedings of every other State.” 1 

gets # 

This does not mean that the laws of any State 
are binding upon persons outside its limits, but that if it 
becomes necessary for the courts of New York, for example, 
to determine what are the public statutes of Pennsylvania, 
that fact may be established by introducing in evidence the 
Pennsylvania legislative records. Further, if the case in the 
New York court is one affected by Pennsylvania laws, that 
court will endeavor to give those laws the same effect that 
they would have in the Pennsylvania courts. 

202. Interstate Extradition. Extradition is another inter¬ 
state obligation imposed by the federal constitution. In 
Constitu- or der that fugitive criminals may be duly tried 
tionai and punished, the constitution provides that “a 

person charged in any State with treason, felony, 
or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in 
another State, shall, on demand of the executive authority 
of the State from which he fled, be delivered up to be re¬ 
moved to the State having jurisdiction of the crime.” 2 
The usual procedure when a criminal takes refuge in an- 


1 Constitution, Art. xv. Sec. 1, Par. 1. 2 Ibid., Art. iv, Sec. 2, Par. 2. 


THE FEDERAL SYSTEM 


145 


other State is to have him arrested and held until the gov¬ 
ernor of the State where the crime was committed sends 
a requisition to the executive of the State where he is found, 
asking his return; whereupon he is turned over to the au¬ 
thorities of the State issuing the requisition. 1 


GENERAL REFERENCES 

Ames, H. V., State Documents on Federal Relations (1906). 

Black, H. C., American Constitutional Law (1897), cks. n, rx-x, xvm-xx. 
Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth (1907), chs. n, iv, xxvii-xxx. 
Cooley, Tkos. M., Constitutional Law (1898), chs. x, xii-xvi. 

- Constitutional Limitations (1903), ch. ii. 

Hart, A. B., Actual Government (1903), chs. n, vi. 

Landon, J. S., The Constitutional History and Government of the United 
States (1905), ch. xvii. 

McClain, E., Constitutional Law in the United States (1905), chs. in, xxx. 
Schouler, James, Constitutional Studies (1904), pp. 115-155, 178-184. 
Story, Joseph, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States (5th 
ed., 1905), secs. 1331-1409, 1804-1831, 1857-1909. 

Woodburn, J. A., The American Republic and its Government (1908), ch. n. 


QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. Explain fully how the federal government brings its authority to bear 
directly upon individuals. Contrast this with the condition under the 
Articles of Confederation. 

2. Prepare a report upon the decision of the Supreme Court in the case 
of McCulloch v. Maryland. (Section 193.) 

3. May a State court declare a national law unconstitutional? 

4 . Explain the reason for giving the national government control of each 
of the subjects enumerated in Section 191. 

5. If the first eight amendments had not been passed, could Congress 
have exercised these powers? Do these prohibitions apply to the 
States? 

6. Can a State government levy a tax upon United States bonds? Upon 
the capital invested in national banks? 

7. Mention some of the rights of States which cannot be infringed by the 
federal government. 

8. May the President suppress an insurrection against State authority 
without the consent of the State? 

9. Enumerate the provisions of the federal constitution which were adopted 
in order to insure interstate comity. 

10. Suggested readings on relations between State and federal govern¬ 
ments: Kaye, P. L., Readings , pp. 74-94. 

1 If the requisition proceedings are illegal, habeas corpus proceedings may be brought 
either in the State or federal courts to inquire into the lawfulness of the prisoner’s detention. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE SENATE 


203. Congress a Two-House Body. The legislative au¬ 
thority granted by the federal constitution is vested in a 
Congress consisting of two houses, the Senate and the 
House of Representatives. In creating a Congress of two 
branches, the framers of the constitution followed the prece¬ 
dent of Great Britain, as well as that of nearly all the 
thirteen State assemblies, wherein legislative powers were 
vested in two separate houses. 

204. Equal Representation of States. As the result of a 

great historical compromise adopted by the Constitutional 
The Convention to reconcile the conflicting desires 

Connecticut of the large and the small States, the common- 
compromise wealths are equally represented in the Senate, 

each electing two members; while in the House representa¬ 
tion is proportioned to population. Thus the House repre¬ 
sents the nation as a whole, the national principle: while the 
Senate represents the federal idea, equality of States. 

Under this plan, there are 96 Senators, two from each of 
the forty-eight States; while the House of Representatives 

Criticism oi ^as ^35 members. Equal representation of States 

equal repre- in the Senate, regardless of population, is some- 
sentatlon , 1 • . i i .* 

times denounced as unjust and undemocratic. 

Nevada, for example, with a population of 77,407, less than 
one third as many people as there are in the city of Columbus, 
has as much power in the Senate as the great commonwealth 
of New York with over ten million inhabitants. However, 
this plan was undoubtedly necessary in order to secure the 
consent of the smaller States to the adoption of the consti¬ 
tution; and in practice, American politics have never turned 


THE SENATE 


147 


upon a conflict of interests between the large and the small 
States. With the object of preventing any departure from 
the original compromise, the constitution provides that 
“no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal 
suffrage in the Senate.” 1 

205. Relations of the Two Houses. The United State 
is the only great country in the world where the two legisla¬ 
tive houses are really equal and coordinate. In Theparlla . 
Great Britain, France, and Italy, for example, mentary 
the lower branch of the legislature is practically system 
supreme; and in case of conflict, the upper house must 
ordinarily give way. Moreover, under the parliamentary 
system which prevails in these countries, the lower or pop¬ 
ular branch of the legislature practically controls the admin¬ 
istration, which it has virtually installed and which it sup¬ 
ports. 

But under our congressional system, the two houses 
possess coordinate and independent authority, and the 
executive is independent of both. Disputes be- Thecon _ 
tween the two houses are frequent, as each freely gressionai 
alters and amends the bills that come from the system 
other. In case of disagreement over a measure, the Senate 
usually, though not invariably, gets the better of the con¬ 
test. It is a much smaller body, and can more easily keep its 
majority together. Then too, Senators serve for longer 
terms than Representatives, and as a rule they have had a 
wider political experience. Many Senators have previously 
served in the House, and hence are thoroughly familiar with 
the inner workings of that body. Although the constitution 
provides that revenue bills shall originate in the House of 
Representatives, as a matter of fact the Senate has an equal, 
and in many cases a far greater power over financial meas¬ 
ures, which it may amend at its own discretion. 

206. Election of Senators. In accordance with the seven¬ 
teenth amendment to the federal constitution, each State 


1 Constitution, Art. v. 


148 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Vacancies 


is represented by two Senators, elected directly by the 
Direct voters of the State. Those persons are qualified 
election to vo t e f or Senator who, under State law, may 
vote for members of the more numerous branch of the 
State legislature. 

If a vacancy occurs in the representation of any State 
in the Senate, the governor of the State issues a writ of 
election to fill the vacancy. If the State legislature 
grants the necessary authority, the governor may 
appoint some one to serve temporarily as Senator, until the 
vacancy is filled by popular election. 

Prior to the year 1913, Senators were chosen by the legis¬ 
latures of their respective States. The framers of the con¬ 
stitution believed that better men would be chosen in this 
way. But there were serious objections to the method of 
indirect election. 1 The House of Representatives repeatedly 
passed a resolution to amend the constitution in this respect; 
but not until the year 1912 was it possible to secure the nec¬ 
essary two-thirds majority in the Senate. Once proposed, 
the amendment was promptly ratified by three fourths of 
the States, and became effective in 1913. 

207. The Senatorial Term. The senatorial term is six 
years, and members are so classified that the terms of one 
third expire every two years — thus making the Senate a 
permanent body. It was believed that the six-year tenure 
would prove long enough to secure the talent and experience 
necessary for legislation, and to operate as a stable feature 
in the government. Senators are more frequently reelected 
than otherwise, and the average term of service is about 
twelve years. 

208. Qualifications of Senators. The constitutional 
qualifications for Senators are three, and relate to age, 
citizenship, and residence. To be eligible to membership, 


1 After a long and bitter contest, it sometimes happened that no candidate was able to 
secure a majority in the legislature, and a “ deadlock ” occurred. Meantime the State was 
without its proper representation in the Senate, and the time and attention of its legisla¬ 
ture were so taken up that State interests suffered. 



THE CAPITOL AT WASHINGTON 













UNITED STATES SENATE CHAMBER 



UNITED STATES HALL OF REPRESENTATIVES 








































THE SENATE 


149 


one must be at least thirty years of age, must have been 
nine years a citizen of the United States, and must be an in¬ 
habitant of the State for which he is chosen. 1 The States 
have no power to add to or subtract from these constitu¬ 
tional qualifications; and whether they are lacking in a 
particular case is a question for the Senate itself to de¬ 
cide. 

The constitution expressly creates two disqualifications — 
the holding of a federal office contemporaneously, and par¬ 
ticipation in rebellion against the United States, Disquaiifi- 
after having taken oath as a government officer to oations 
support the constitution. 2 Congress or the Senate can make 
only such further disqualifications as are reasonably im¬ 
plied in the constitutional provisions. Thus the corrupt 
use of his powers by a legislator has been made a disquali¬ 
fication. 

209. Rights and Privileges of Members. Members of 
Congress have the constitutional right to a compensation 
for their services, the amount to be determined compensa- 
by statute and paid out of the treasury of the tlon 
United States. At present both Senators and Representa¬ 
tives receive $7500 per year, to which is added an allowance 
for clerk hire, stationery, and traveling expenses. 

Except in case of treason, felony, or breach of peace, 
both Senators and Representatives are privileged from 
arrest during attendance at the sessions of their Freedom 
respective houses, and in going to and returning from arrest 
from the same. The object of this provision is to exemp\ 
members from being interfered with by judicial process 
while in the performance of their official duties. 

Finally, members of Congress have the important priv¬ 
ilege of freedom of speech and debate in their „ , 

0 . Freedom of 

respective houses. That is, only the house it- speech and 

• dolScito 

self can call members to account for their utter- 


1 Constitution, Art. I, Sec. 3. 

* Congress may remove the latter disqualification by a two-thirds vote of each house. 


150 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


ances in that body; and a congressman cannot be prose¬ 
cuted in the courts for libel or slander on account of any 
utterances in the house to which he belongs, or for the 
official publication of what he says. 

210. The Senate’s Powers in Legislation. With a single 

exception, the legislative powers of the Senate are identical 
Revenue with those of the House, and bills may originate 
1)1118 indifferently in either branch. The exception is 

in case of revenue bills, which must originate in the House, 
although the Senate may propose or concur with amend¬ 
ments as on other bills. 

211. Executive Functions of the Senate. The Senate 
is not only a legislative body, but also an executive cham- 

Treaties and ^er, ^ avin S two important executive functions: 
appoint- first, the power of approving treaties; and second, 
that of confirming the most important presiden¬ 
tial appointments. At the time of the adoption of the fed¬ 
eral constitution, the upper house of the State legislatures 
had a large degree of control over the governor’s power of 
appointment; and a similar distrust of the executive in¬ 
duced the framers of the constitution to give the Senate 
control over these two important executive powers. 

212. Power to approve Treaties. All treaties negotiated 
by the President must be submitted to the Senate for ap¬ 
proval, and in order to be ratified must receive the favor¬ 
able vote of two thirds of the Senators present when the 
vote is taken. Although the President is not obliged to 
consult with the Senate during the negotiation of a treaty, 
in practice he usually does so, especially with the committee 
on foreign relations. The Senate considers treaties, as well 
as other executive business, in executive or secret session. 
The treaty may be approved or rejected as a whole; or it 
may be ratified in part, additional articles being recom¬ 
mended as amendments. When thus changed, the treaty 
does not become law until both the President and the for¬ 
eign power have consented to the amendment. 


THE SENATE 


151 


213. Confirmation of Executive Appointments. Through 

its second executive function, that of confirming senatorial 
nominations submitted by the President, the courtes y 
Senate exercises considerable control over the civil admin¬ 
istration. This provision was designed to prevent abuses 
of power on the part of the executive, but it has operated 
to give the Senate a large control over federal patronage 
through the practice known as “senatorial courtesy.” By 
this term is meant the mutual support that Senators give 
to one another, expecially in the confirmation of executive 
appointments. Cabinet appointments are generally con¬ 
firmed as a matter of course, and diplomatic appointments 
are seldom rejected; but nominations to federal positions 
within a State are ordinarily not confirmed unless approved 
by the Senators from the commonwealth in question, pro¬ 
vided they are of the same political party as the President. 

In considering appointments, the Senate acts in secret 
session, but reports of their proceedings commonly become 
public. In an executive session the galleries are Executive 
cleared, the doors closed, and the obligation of sessions 
secrecy is imposed upon every Senator, under penalty of 
expulsion if he discloses the confidential proceedings. But 
the obligation does not weigh heavily upon some members, 
and the newspaper correspondents generally manage to 
find out what occurs. 

214. The Senate’s Judicial Function. The judicial func¬ 
tion of the Senate is to sit as a court of impeachment for 
the trial of persons formally accused, by the Ac(rartof 
House of Representatives, of treason, bribery, impeach 
or other high crimes and misdemeanors. Im¬ 
peachment is not limited to indictable offenses, but includes 
conduct which the courts of law cannot reach, as intemper¬ 
ance or abuse of official power. The President, Vice-Presi¬ 
dent, and all civil officers of the United States are liable to 
impeachment; and the term civil officers includes all federal 
officers, except military and naval officers (who are tried 


152 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


by courts-martial), and members of Congress (who are sub* 
jectonly to the rules of the house of which they are members). 

The House of Representatives has the sole power to pre¬ 
fer charges of impeachment, that is, to present the articles 
Trial of im- °f accusation as the grand jury presents an in- 
peachments di c tment. The trial then occurs before the Sen¬ 
ate, the process resembling that of a trial by jury. The 
House appoints a committee of members to prosecute the 
charges before the Senate; the accused is entitled to counsel, 
and to full opportunity to present his defense; each Sena¬ 
tor takes an oath to judge impartially; witnesses are ex¬ 
amined; and the Senate then deliberates in secret session 
while arriving at a decision. In ordinary impeachment 
trials, the Vice-President or the President pro tempore of 
the Senate presides; but in case of the impeachment of the 
President, the presiding officer is the chief-justice of the 
United States Supreme Court. 

A two-thirds vote of the Senators present is necessary to 
a conviction; and in case of conviction, the punishment 
Punish- cannot extend further than removal from office, 

ment and disqualification to hold any office under the 

United States. If the offense leading to impeachment is one 
punishable by law, the person impeached is liable to trial 
by the courts, as in case of any one who violates the law. 
The President has no pardoning power in cases of impeach¬ 
ment. 1 

1 There have been nine cases of impeachment in our history, three of which resulted in 
conviction. The three men convicted were judges of the United States courts: John Picker¬ 
ing, judge for New Hampshire, impeached in 1803 for malfeasance in office, including drunk¬ 
enness and other offenses; West H. Humphreys, judge for Tennessee, impeached in 1862 for 
disloyalty and inciting rebellion; and Robert W. Archbald, judge of the Commerce Court, 
impeached in 1913 for using his office as judge to influence railroad officials to grant him 
certain favors in connection with coal lands. 

The most noted impeachment case in our history was that of President Johnson, im¬ 
peached in 1868 for violating the Tenure of Office Act, and other offenses; acquitted by the 
narrow margin of one vote (thirty-five Senators voting guilty, and nineteen not guilty). 


THE SENATE 


153 


GENERAL REFERENCES 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xn. 

— Readings in American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xn. 

Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth (1907), i, chs. x-xn. 

Fairlie, J. A., National Administration of the United States (1905), ch. in. 

rord, H. J., The. Rise and Growth of /American Politics (1898), ch. xxi. 

Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, The Federalist (ed. by Lodge, 1904), nos. 
lxii—lxvi. 

Hart, A, B., Actual Government (1903), ch. xm. 

Munro, William B., The Government of the United States (1920), pp. 146-175. 

Reinsch, P. S., American Legislatures and Legislative Methods (1907), 
chs. i, in. 

- Readings on American Federal Government (1909), chs. rv-v. 

Story, J., Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States (5th ed., 
1905), i, secs. 690-813. 

Woodburn, James A., The American Republic and its Government (1908). 

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. Make an outline showing the points of resemblance between Congress 
and your State and city legislative departments. 

2 . Compare the Senate with the British House of Lords. 

3. Has the Senate accomplished the special purposes which it was de¬ 
signed to fulfill? ( The Federalist, nos. lxii-lxvi.) 

4. How many Senators were there April 30, 1789? For what terms did 
these Senators serve? 

5. What arguments can you present for and against the equal representa¬ 
tion of States in the Senate? 

6. Name the Senators from your State. How long have they served? 
When do their terms expire? To which political party do they belong? 

7. Give arguments for and against the popular election of Senators. 

8. Compare the term and qualifications of United States Senators with 
those of your State senators. 

9. Which of the special powers of the United States Senate is exercised 
by your State senate? 

10. State the advantages and disadvantages of having the Senate partici¬ 
pate in appointments; in treaties. 

11. State the objections to the practice of “senatorial courtesy.” 

12. Prepare a list of executive officials appointed by the President subject 
to confirmation by the Senate. 

13. What officials in your congressional district were thus appointed? 
Was your Senator consulted? 

14. Give an account of the controversy between President Garfield and 
Senators Conkling and Platt over appointments in New York State. 

15. What is the smallest number of Senators who at the present time can 
pass a bill? Confirm an appointment? Ratify a treaty? 

16. Prepare a report upon the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson. 
(Sherman, Recollections, i, 413-432; Blaine, Twenty Years of Congress , 
ii, 341-384; Cox, Three Decades of Federal Legislation 578-594.) 

17. Suggested readings on the Senate: Reinsch, P. S., Readings on Ameri¬ 
can Federal Government, ch. v; Kaye, P. L., Readings, pp. 156-183. 




CHAPTER XVI 

THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 


215. Composition of the House. The House of Repre¬ 

sentatives, often referred to simply as the House, consists 
Present ^35 members elected every second year by 

basts of rep- direct vote in congressional districts of nearly 
mentation e q Ua j p 0 p U l a tion. The number of Representa¬ 
tives to which any State is entitled depends upon its popu¬ 
lation as ascertained by the federal census, taken every 
ten years. Since the adoption of the fourteenth amend¬ 
ment ( 1868 ), the entire number of individuals in each State 
(except untaxed Indians) is counted in determining the 
population entitled to representation. 1 

Each of the territories is permitted to send to the House 
a delegate, who may speak on questions affecting his ter- 
Territoriai ritory, but may not vote. Thus in the Sixty- 
deiegates seventh Congress ( 1921 - 1923 ), Alaska and Ha¬ 
waii are represented by delegates, Porto Rico and the Philip¬ 
pines by resident commissioners. 

216. The Method of Apportionment. After each decen¬ 
nial census, Congress determines upon the number of Rep- 
Ratio of rep- resentatives of which the House shall consist, 
mentation The population of all the States is then divided 
by this number, the quotient being the ratio of representa¬ 
tion; and the population of each State is divided by this 

* Under the original provision of the constitution, Representatives and direct taxes 
were apportioned among the States according to population. In enumerating the popu¬ 
lation, all free persons were to be counted, including also persons bound to service for a 
term of years and excluding Indians not taxed; and including also three fifths of all other 
‘persons. In other words, five slaves were to be counted as equivalent to three white per¬ 
sons in apportionment and in levying direct taxes. This was the famous three-fifths rule, 
adopted as a compromise between the Northern and Southern members of the Constitu¬ 
tional Convention. 


THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 


155 


ratio to ascertain the number of Representatives to which 
it is entitled. Thus after the thirteenth census had been 
taken ( 1910 ), Congress passed an act fixing the number 
of Representatives at 435 . Dividing the aggregate popula¬ 
tion of all the States, as ascertained by the thirteenth census, 
by 435 , gave a quotient of 211,877 as the ratio of represen- 
ration. Then the population of each State was divided by 
this ratio, the resulting quotients being the number of 
Representatives of the respective States. 

After each decennial census, the number of members has 
been increased; 1 otherwise some States would have had 
fewer Representatives than during the previous increase in 
decade, since population does not increase uni- memberslli P 
formly in all parts of the country. 2 Under the present ratio, 
two commonwealths, Nevada and Wyoming, would be 
without representation were it not for the constitutional 
provision that each State shall have at least one Repre¬ 
sentative in the House. When a new State is admitted, 
it is at once given representation, its members or member 
being additional to the number provided for by the preced¬ 
ing apportionment. 

217. Districting a State. The boundaries of the con¬ 
gressional districts within each commonwealth are deter¬ 
mined by its legislature, subject to the res trie- Redistrict- 
tion of federal law that the districts shall be as umes°neces- 
nearly as practicable of equal population, and 8ar y 
composed of compact and contiguous territory. In case 
the apportionment act changes the representation of a 
State, or if the decennial census shows that its population 
has increased unequally in various sections, redistricting 
the State becomes a necessity. 

Sometimes States are redistricted for less legitimate 
reasons. The dominant party in the legislature may en- 

1 With a single exception — under the reapportionment of 1842. 

2 Although the House is now so large as to be unwieldy, it is smaller than the corre¬ 
sponding body in European countries. In Great Britain the House of Commons consists 
of (170 members; the German Reichstag, of about 400 members; while the French Chamber 
of Deputies numbers about 600 members. 


156 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


deavor, by a process known as “gerrymandering,” so to ar- 

Gerryman- range the district 


dering lines as to secure 
a party majority in the 
greatest possible number 
of districts. This is done 
by massing the opposition 
votes in a few districts certain to be hos¬ 
tile in any event, and by so arranging 
the others as to insure a safe majority 
in each for the party in control of the 
legislature. 1 2 

Federal law requires that the dis- 
_ . . tricts be composed of 

THE ORIGINAL “ GERRY- Evasion of ^ 

mander ” * statutory compact and contigu- 

restrictions . .. * . .. i 

ous territory; but it has 

been held that territory is contiguous if it touches the 



district at any point, 
and the result has been 
that some States have 
created districts of the 
most amazing irregular¬ 
ity. The statutory re¬ 
quirement that districts 


1 In 1892, by a carefullv planned gerry¬ 
mander, the Democrats in Indiana were 
enabled to elect eleven congressmen with 
a total vote of 2.59,190, leaving only two 
congressmen to the Republicans, who cast 
a vote of 215,008. 

2 “ In 1812 when Elbridge Gerry was gov¬ 
ernor of Massachusetts, the Republican 
legislature redistributed the districts in 
such wise that the shapes of the towns 
forming a single district in Essex County 
gave to the district a somewhat dragon¬ 
like contour. This was indicated upon 
a map of Massachusetts which Benjamin 
Russell, an ardent Federalist and editor 
of the ‘ Centinel,’ hung up over the desk 
jh his office. The celebrated painter Gil¬ 
bert Stuart, coming into the office one day 
and observing the uncouth figure, added 
with his pencil a head, wings, and claws, 
and exclaimed, ‘ That will do for a sala¬ 
mander! ’ ‘Better say a Gerrymander!' 
growled the editor: and the outlandish 
name, thus duly coined, soon came into 
general currency.”—Fislce’s Civil Gov¬ 
ernment in the United States. 


^LAUDERDALE |‘lime"! "T>' 

! ! /’■jacks 

/ COLBERT I g T 

i ■ a R. L t/f 


I MARION \ WINSTON ^ 

t —i V—• 

I g. i-L walker 



MAP OF THE CONGRES¬ 
SIONAL DISTRICTS 
IN THE STATE OF 
ALABAMA, APRIL, 1910 

An example of gerrymandering. 















THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 


157 


shall be of nearly equal population has also been disre¬ 
garded. In order to gain a partisan advantage, legislatures 
have occasionally created districts with almost double the 
population of other districts in the same State. 

218. The Suffrage. When the constitution was framed, 
no attempt was made to establish a uniform national suf¬ 
frage; instead it was provided that members of Nounlfonn 
the House of Representatives should be chosen by national 
those persons in the several commonwealths who suifra ° a 
are qualified to vote for the more numerous (i.e., the lower) 
branch of the State legislature. 

The States are thus given control of the suffrage; and in 
order to determine who may vote for congressmen in any 
commonwealth, it is necessary to examine the Statesdeter . 
qualifications prescribed by the State constitu- minequaii- 
tion for those who may vote for members of the 
lower branch of the State legislature. Generally speaking, 
universal suffrage prevails except as to the criminal, in¬ 
sane, or other defective or delinquent classes. But in a few 
commonwealths, a property qualification is prescribed; and 
an educational qualification, as ability to read or write, is 
required in fourteen States. 

State control of the suffrage is subject to three important 
limitations contained in amendments to the federal con¬ 
stitution. The fifteenth amendment was intended „ _ 

. . Constltu- 

to secure the suffrage to negro citizens. Further- tionai 

0 0 limitations 

more, section two of the fourteenth amendment 
provides that in case the right to vote in any State is denied 
(except for crime) to male citizens who are twenty-one years 
of age, the State’s representation in the House shall be pro¬ 
portionately reduced. Finally, the nineteenth amendment 
provides that “the right of citizens of the United States to 
vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or 
by any State on account of sex.” 


1 Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Missis¬ 
sippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming. 


158 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


219. The Election of Representatives. The constitution 
confers upon the State legislatures the power to make 
Federal regulations as to the time, place, and manner of 
regulations holding elections for Representatives; but re¬ 
serves to Congress the right to make or alter these regula¬ 
tions at its discretion. In 1842 Congress exercised its re¬ 
served power of regulating the election of Representatives, 
and passed an act which provided that from that time 
on, all Representatives should be chosen by districts, and 
not by general ticket. Other important regulations subse¬ 
quently adopted by Congress provide that the time for 
the election of Representatives shall be the Tuesday next 
following the first Monday in November of the even num¬ 
bered years; 1 that the election shall be by written or 
printed ballot; and that the districts arranged by the State 
legislatures shall be as nearly as may be of equal population, 
and composed of compact and contiguous territory. 

In many States, candidates for the House of Repre¬ 
sentatives are still nominated by district conven¬ 
tions composed of delegates representing units 
of local government within the congressional dis¬ 
trict, such as counties, or in the more thickly settled areas, 
assembly districts, townships, or wards. But in a larger 
number of States, the older convention method has been 
superseded by the direct primary system, under which can¬ 
didates are nominated by the voters at a party primary. 

220. The Term of Representatives. Representatives are 
elected for a term of two years, the legal term commencing 
on the fourth of March following the election. Actual serv¬ 
ice does not commence (except in case of special session) 
until the first Monday in December, thirteen months after 
the election. Reelection is frequent, and the average term 
of service is about five years. 


Nomina¬ 
tion of 
candidates 


1 Congress has exempted from the operation of this rule three States whose constitutions 
contain clauses establishing a different date. These are Oregon, where the election oc¬ 
curs on the first Monday in June; Vermont, where it takes place on the first Tuesday in 
September; and Maine, where it is held on the second Monday in September. 


THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 


159 


If a vacancy occurs in the representation from any State 
by reason of death, resignation, or expulsion of a member, 
the federal constitution authorizes the governor 
to issue a writ of election to fill the vacancy. Vacanclea 
A special election is then held in the district where the* 
vacancy occurs, the Representative chosen serving for the 
remainder of the term. 

221. Qualifications for Representatives. The constitu¬ 
tional qualifications prescribed for Representatives relate 
to age, citizenship, and inhabitancy. A Representative must 
have attained the age of twenty-five years, must have been 
a citizen for at least seven years, and must be an inhabit¬ 
ant of the State from which he is chosen. 1 The House itself 
determines whether these qualifications exist, and has even 
rejected duly elected individuals who possessed the con¬ 
stitutional qualifications. The States cannot add to the 
constitutional qualifications; but universal custom having 
almost the force of law prescribes residence within the dis¬ 
trict which the member represents. 

222. Rights, Privileges, and Disabilities of Members. 
The privileges of members of the House are the same as 
those of Senators, and include the right to compensation, 
the privilege of freedom from arrest (except in cases of 
treason, felony, or breach of peace), and freedom of speech 
and debate. Representatives, like Senators, may not hold 
any civil office under the United States during their con¬ 
gressional term; nor be subsequently appointed to any office 
which has been created, or the salary of which has been 
increased, during their term. 

223. Special Powers of the House. The House has three 
special powers not shared by the Senate: the ex- Three 
elusive power to initiate revenue bills; the sole special 
right of impeachment; and the power to elect a powers 
President of the United States in case no candidate has a 


1 The constitution also provides that no person holding any office under the United States 
may be a member of Congress during his continuance in office. 


160 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


majority of the electoral votes. These exclusive powers 
are not of great importance, and add little to the prestige 
of the House. 


GENERAL REFERENCES 

Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth (1907), I, chs. xm-xrv. 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xn. 

Fairlie, J. A., National Administration of the United States (1905), ch. HI. 

Follett, M. P., The Speaker of the House of Representatives (1904). 

Fuller, H. B., Speakers of the House (1999). 

Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, The Federalist (ed. by Lodge, 1904), nos. 
lii-liv. 

Hart, A. B., Actual Government (1903), ch. xiii. 

Munro, William B., The Government of the United States (1920), pp. 176-207. 

Reinsch, P. S., American Legislatures and Legislative Methods (1907), 
chs. i-ii. 

- Readings on American Federal Government (1909), ch. vii. 

Woodburn, James A., The American Republic and its Government (1908). 

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. Prepare a report showing points of similarity and contrast between 
the House of Representatives and the British House of Commons. 

2. How many congressional districts in your State? How do these com¬ 
pare in area and population? Is the division a fair one, or has the gerry¬ 
mander been employed? 

3. Who is your Representative? To which political party does he be¬ 
long? Length of his service in Congress? Previous political experi¬ 
ence? 

4. What is the number of your congressional district? What counties 
does it comprise? Which political party generally carries the dis¬ 
trict? 

5. How are the political parties represented in the present House? Name 
prominent leaders of each party in the House. 

6. Was your Representative nominated by a party convention or by a 
direct primary? Which is the better method? 

7. Compare the special powers of the House of Representatives with the 
special powers of the lower branch of your State legislature. 

8. Why should bills for raising revenue originate in the House of Repre¬ 
sentatives? What is the practice in the British Parliament? 

9. Why was the election of a President entrusted to the House of Repre¬ 
sentatives, in case of failure of the Electoral College to choose a Presi¬ 
dent? In this event, why is the vote in the House taken by States? 

10. What is the smallest number of Representatives who can pass a bill 
for the first time? Over the President’s veto? What number could 
elect a President, in case the election should go to the House? 

11. What qualifications are required in your State in order to permit one 
to vote for a United States Representative? 

12. Compare the term and qualifications of a United States Representa¬ 
tive with those of your State representative. 



CHAPTER XVII 

CONGRESSIONAL METHODS 


Sessions 


224 . Term and Sessions of Congress. The life of each 
Congress coincides with the legal term for which Represen¬ 
tatives are elected; that is, it commences on March 4 of 
the odd-numbered years, and ends on March 4, two years 
later. Hence Congresses are numbered according to bien¬ 
nial periods. The First Congress began its legal existence 
on March 4, 1789, and expired at noon on March 4 , 1791; 
the Second Congress lasted from March 4, 1791, to March 
4, 1793, and so on to the Sixty-seventh Congress, whose 
legal existence extends from March 4, 1921, to March 4 , 
1923. 

The constitution requires Congress to assemble at least 
once each year, the date of meeting — which Congress may 
change — being the first Monday in Decem¬ 
ber. Two regular sessions are held: the long ses¬ 
sion from December of each odd year until Congress ad¬ 
journs, generally in the following June or July; and the 
short session, beginning when Congress assembles in De¬ 
cember of each even year, and ending at noon on the fol¬ 
lowing fourth of March. Thus Congress is ordinarily in 
session only about one half of its legal term. Special ses¬ 
sions may be called either by the President or by Congress 
itself. 

From April, 1789, to December, 1790, Congress met at 
New York, then the seat of government; from 1790 until 
1800 at Philadelphia; and since 1800 at the na- piaceof 
tionalcapitol at Washington. The Senate chamber meeting 
occupies the north wing of the capitol building, the House 
chamber the south. 


162 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Otlicers 


225 . Internal Organization of Congress. The constitu¬ 
tion makes each house the sole judge of the elections, re- 
Eiections turns, and qualifications of its members. Con- 

returns, and tested elections are referred to a committee on 

ttonsof elections, which considers the evidence in each 

members case , and submits a report. Inasmuch as a major¬ 

ity of the members of the committee on elections are chosen 
from the dominant party, a contested election is quite 
likely to be decided on partisan lines. Persons may be 
excluded from membership if the election has been irregu¬ 
lar or corrupt; if improper returns have been made; if the 
constitutional qualifications are lacking; or for other rea¬ 
sons which in the opinion of the house render individuals 
unfit to act as members. 

The presiding officer of the House of Representatives is 
the Speaker, chosen from the members by the House it¬ 
self; while in the Senate the ex officio presiding 
officer is the Vice-President of the United States. 
Other officers elected by the respective houses 1 from per¬ 
sons not members are: the clerk (in the Senate called the 
secretary), the sergeant-at-arms, doorkeeper, postmaster, 
and chaplain. 

Each house of Congress may determine its own rules of 
procedure, punish members for disorderly behavior, and 
by a two-thirds vote, expel a member . 2 Acts of violence 
Rules of or abusive language may be punished by a vote 
procedure G f censure ; or the offending member may be re¬ 
quired to make a public apology to the house. Only grave 
offenses which show unfitness for the public trust and duty 
of a member are punished by expulsion. 

The constitution requires that “each house shall keep a 
journal of its proceedings, and from time to time 
publish the same, excepting such parts as may 
in their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays 

1 Nominally these officers are chosen by each house; but in practice the choice is made 
by the caucus of the majority party, held a few days before the organization of the house. 

* Constitution, Art. i, Sec. 5, Par. 2. 


Journal 



(By courtesy of the Superintendent of the United States Capitol and Grounds) 

THE OFFICE BUILDING OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE 
There is a similar building for the House of Representatives. 



fUj/ courtesy of Foster and Reynolds, ^iew York) 


THE EXECUTIVE OFFICES 
Connected with the White House by a portico. 





























THE FORM OF A FEDERAL LAW 
























































CONGRESSIONAL METHODS 


163 


of the members of either house shall, at the desire of one 
fifth of those present, be entered upon the journal.” 1 The 
object of keeping a journal is to secure a permanent record 
of legislative action, as well as publicity of proceedings. 
The object of requiring the call of yeas and nays is to fix 
upon each member responsibility for his vote by making it 
a matter of public record. 

An official account of congressional debates and proceed¬ 
ings is published, known as the Congressional Record. This 
appears daily during the session of Congress, and Congres . 
is supposed to be a verbatim report of what is sionai 
said in each house; but members are allowed to 
revise their remarks before they are printed, and in the 
House many of the published speeches are not actually 
made at all — since members often merely prepare their 
speeches and obtain “leave to print.” 

226 . The Quorum. A quorum of a legislative body is 
the number of members who must be present in order to 
transact business; and the quorum required by whatcon _ 
the constitution is a majority of each house. A stitutes a 
smaller number than a quorum has power only quorum 

to adjourn from day to day; but they may compel the 
attendance of absentees by sending out the sergeant-at- 
arms with instructions to bring in members wherever 
found. 

227 . Presiding Officer of the Senate. The presiding of¬ 
ficer of the Senate is the Vice-President of the United States, 
the Senate itself choosing a president pro tem - president of 
pore , who occupies the chair during the absence the Senate 
of the Vice-President, or in case the latter succeeds to the 
Presidency. Unlike the Speaker of the House, the Pres¬ 
ident of the Senate exercises no special control over legis¬ 
lation, but resembles the Speaker of the British House of 
Commons in acting simply as a chairman or moderator. 

l Constitution, Art. i, Sec. 5, Par. 3. — The Journal is an official record of the introduc¬ 
tion of bills and the votes of members. 


164 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


He does not appoint the Senate committees, these being 
elected by the Senate itself; and he has no vote except in 
case of a tie. Questions of order are decided by him without 
debate, subject to appeal to the Senate. 

228 . The Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
The position of the Speaker of the House of Representa- 
a political tives is entirely different. He is a political leader 
ieader rather than a chairman or moderator, and is 
expected to use his office for party purposes. Moreover, the 
House has seen fit to concentrate large powers of control in 
the hands of its Speaker, until to-day his position is second 
in political importance to that of the President alone. 

The House chooses its Speaker out of its own membership, 
and in earlier years exciting contests occurred in the House 
Mode of over the election. But with the development of 
choice the caucus system the real contest has been trans¬ 
ferred to the caucus of the majority party, held shortly be¬ 
fore the organization of the House. The candidate chosen by 
this caucus almost invariably receives the solid vote of his 
party in the House; for the rule of the caucus is that those 
who participate in its proceedings must support its decisions. 1 

As chairman of the House, the Speaker performs the cus¬ 
tomary duties of a presiding officer. He opens and closes 
_ . the sittings of the House; maintains order; de- 

presiding cides questions of parliamentary law; acts as the 

officor 

official representative of the House in its col¬ 
lective capacity; authenticates official proceedings by his 
signature; announces the order of business; states the 
question; and announces the vote. He also appoints the 
chairman of the committee of the whole, and may appoint 
a speaker pro tem for a period not exceeding ten days. The 
Speaker retains his privileges as a member, including the 
right to take part in debate (in which case he calls some 
member to the chair); and also the right to vote. 

1 The minority party also nominates a candidate in its caucus; he is regarded as the leader 
of the opposition, and is generally consulted by the Speaker in regard to the minority’s 
representation upon committees. 


CONGRESSIONAL METHODS 


165 


229 . Chief Sources of the Speaker’s Power. In addition 
to the above duties, the Speaker has three powers of such 
importance as to give him a large degree of control over 
legislation during the period of his speakership. 

( 1 ) The Speaker is empowered to determine to which 
committee each bill shall be referred. If the measure might 
be appropriately referred to either of two com- Reference 
mittees, he may determine its fate by sending it 01 bills 

to the one which is friendly or hostile, according to his 
personal inclinations. 

From 1790 to 1911, the Speaker had the right to appoint 
the committees of the House, and to designate their respec¬ 
tive chairmen. Since these committees have almost entire 
control over legislation, this power of appointment gave 
the Speaker tremendous influence upon law-making. In 
forming the committees, the Speaker appointed members 
favorable to his own views, who could also be relied upon 
to promote the party policy. But in 1911 the Democratic 
House of Representatives changed the rules so as to trans¬ 
fer this power of appointment from the Speaker to a com¬ 
mittee elected by the House itself. This practice has 
operated to decrease the Speaker’s power. 

( 2 ) Another source of the Speaker’s authority is his 
power of recognition — that is, of deciding which member 
is entitled to the floor; for no motion or speech Power oi 
can be made except by one who has been duly reco g nitlon 
recognized by the chair. While there are certain unwrit¬ 
ten laws of recognition, and certain restrictions imposed 
by custom, the Speaker has the power to recognize only 
such persons as he pleases; and accordingly he may see or 
refuse to see, as he thinks the public interest requires, or 
as party interests may dictate. When a member rises and 
addresses the chair, he is frequently asked, “For what 
purpose ? ” and the Speaker then decides whether he shall 
be recognized. When a bill is before the House for con¬ 
sideration, the Speaker generally has a list of members 


166 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


(arranged beforehand by the committee chairman) who 
are to be recognized when the proper time comes; and 
discussion is thus confined to members whose names are 
on the Speaker’s memorandum. 

( 3 ) The third source of the Speaker’s authority is his 
right to decide points of order, including power to deal 
with obstruction — that is, filibustering tactics 

D6C1Q6S m * # 

points of on the part of the minority. The obstructive de¬ 
vices formerly resorted to by the minority in¬ 
cluded preventing a quorum by refusing to vote, and delay¬ 
ing action by offering dilatory motions (as to take a recess, 
or to fix a day to which the House shall adjourn). In the 
Fifty-first Congress, Speaker Reed inaugurated the existing 
practice of counting as present persons actually in the 
House, whether they respond to their names at roll-call 
or not; and he also disregarded all motions and appeals 
made simply for the purpose of delay — a practice now 
invariably followed. 

230 . The Committee on Rules. Until March, 1910, a 
large part of the Speaker’s power came from his control of 
the influential committee on rules. The rules committee is 
virtually a committee of control, with power to decide upon 
the order for considering bills, to determine the length of 
debates, and the time when the vote shall be taken. This 
is done by “reporting a rule” — that is, by presenting a 
report as to the time and conditions under which the House 
shall consider a measure — a report which takes precedence 
over any other business. Accordingly the committee on 
rules can accept or reject a bill, permit or limit or refuse 
debate, admit or decline to admit an amendment. Since 
March, 1910, this committee has consisted of ten mem¬ 
bers — six of the majority and four of the minority party, 
the Speaker being excluded from membership. This com¬ 
mittee is elected by the House. 

231 . Congressional Committees. Large representative 
assemblies are confronted with the difficult problem of giv- 


CONGRESSIONAL METHODS 1G7 

ing careful consideration to an immense number of meas¬ 
ures, and at the same time acting promptly CaWnet 
and efficiently. Two plans have been evolved for system 
meeting this difficulty. The first is the cabinet or minis¬ 
terial system, under which the leaders of the majority party 
in the legislature — who for the time being also hold the 
chief positions in the cabinet — prepare legislative meas¬ 
ures, and defend them in the assembly against the at¬ 
tacks of the minority party. The cabinet virtually con¬ 
stitutes a central or ruling committee of the legislature, and 
retains control of the administration so long as it has the 
support of a majority of the members of the House. When 
no longer able to command a majority, the cabinet must 
resign, and a group of leaders from the opposition in turn 
becomes the governing committee. This is the British sys¬ 
tem, also followed in many countries of continental Europe. 

The second plan is the congressional or committee sys¬ 
tem, which prevails in our federal and State legislatures. 
Under this system the assembly is divided into congres- 
a number of smaller groups or committees, each committee 
of which is charged with the consideration of leg- system 
islation pertaining to a certain subject. After being con¬ 
sidered by these miniature legislatures, measures are re¬ 
ported to the assembly itself for final action. The decision 
of a committee with reference to a bill is practically final, 
for while either house may overrule the committee, in 
practice this is seldom done. Hence it is said that our legis¬ 
lation is by committees and not by the House, for as a rule 
the House merely ratifies the decisions of the committees. 

Each member of the House serves on one or two commit¬ 
tees, each Senator on from five to ten. Prior to 1911, the 
Speaker appointed all House committees; since that date 
these committees have been chosen by a special committee 
on committees, elected by the House. Senate committees 
are elected nominally by the Senate, but in practice by the 
caucus of the majority and minority parties. The minority 


168 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


party is given such representation upon committees as the 
majority sees fit to allow — their representation being some¬ 
times proportioned to the total minority membership. 

232 . The Process of Legislation. Every bill introduced 
in the House or Senate is read the first time by title only, 

introduction anc ^ then re f erre d by the presiding officer to the 
and refer- proper committee. The fate of the bill then rests 
ence of tills j-j ie comm jttee; and “not having been dis¬ 

cussed, much less affirmed in principle by the House, a bill 
comes before its committee with no presumption in its 
favor, but rather as a shivering ghost stands before Minos 
in the nether world.’* 1 The committee may amend the 
bill as it pleases; or if unfavorable to the measure, may 
report it adversely, or too late for legislative action, or fail 
to report it at all . 2 If a bill receives the approval of the com¬ 
mittee, it is reported back to the House or Senate with a 
recommendation that it be passed. It is then read a second 
time in full, and is placed upon the calendar— “ the ceme¬ 
tery of legislative hopes” — along with hundreds of other 
bills. Llere it must ordinarily await its turn, unless the 
committee on rules sees fit to direct immediate considera¬ 
tion. If a bill reaches the third reading, it is read by title 
only unless a reading in full is demanded, and the question 
is then put whether the bill shall pass. 

In the House, debate is limited in several ways, chiefly by 
the closure rule. It is customary for the member in charge of 
Debate in the bill, after a limited discussion, to move the 
the House previous question, a motion which cuts off debate 
and brings the House to a direct vote upon the question. 

In the Senate, debate is unlimited, and the absence of 
a closure rule makes it possible for Senators to defeat a 
measure by talking indefinitely upon the subject. 
Although this privilege of unlimited discussion 
is sometimes abused, the Senate has repeatedly refused to 


Debate in 
the Senate 


1 Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth, I, 157. 

2 The House may discharge a committee from further consideration of a bill and take it 
up directly, but this is rarely done. 


CONGRESSIONAL METHODS 


169 


adopt a rule cutting off debate. It proceeds upon the 
theory that if hasty and ill-considered legislation is to be 
prevented, entire freedom of discussion must be allowed. 

Votes in Congress are taken in one of four ways: (1) By 
viva voce vote, in which case the presiding officer calls in 
turn for the “ayes and noes,” and decides by the Methods 
volume of sound whether the motion has been olvotin s 
carried or lost. (2) By a standing vote, whereupon those 
for and against the motion rise in succession and are 
counted by tellers. (3) By passing between tellers in front of 
the Speaker’s desk. (4) By roll-call, or vote by yeas and nays. 
In this case the clerk calls the roll and each member as his 
name is reached answers “aye” or “no,” the vote being 
then recorded in the journal. 

If a bill receives a majority vote in one house, it is en¬ 
grossed and submitted to the other, where the same proc¬ 
ess is repeated. Either house may amend any conference 
measure proposed by the other; but in case of committee3 
amendment, however trivial, the bill must be returned to 
the house in which it originated. In the event of failure to 
agree upon an important measure, it is customary for each 
branch to appoint members of a conference committee which 
endeavors to adjust the differences. The report of this com¬ 
mittee is generally a compromise between the opposing views. 
If the conference report is passed by both branches, an en¬ 
rolled copy is prepared and signed by each presiding officer; 
and the bill is then ready to be submitted to the President. 

233 . Relations of Congress to the President. If the 
President approves the measure and affixes his signature, 
it thereupon becomes law. Otherwise he may president’s 
veto the act, that is, return it to the house in vet0 
which it originated, with a written statement of his objec¬ 
tions. The objections are entered at large upon the journal 
of the house, whereupon the measure cannot become law 
unless upon reconsideration it receives a two-thirds vote 
of each house. 


170 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


In addition to the exercise of his veto power, the Pres¬ 
ident may influence the action of Congress in the follow- 
Executive ing ways: (1) by his annual message to Congress; 
“ (2) by calling a special session of Congress and 

Congress urging certain legislative measures; (3) by contact 
and communication through the executive departments 
with the congressional committees and their chairmen; 

( 4 ) by the distribution of executive patronage. 

On the other hand, Congress may bring its influence to 
bear upon the President in several ways: (1) By resolu- 
congres- tion, calling upon the President or an executive 
sionai infiu- department to adopt a certain course, or censur- 
the Pres- ing a course already taken, or requesting the sub- 
ident mission to Congress of papers and information 

upon which the executive department has based its action. 
(2) By an investigating committee, appointed to inquire 
into the management of an executive department. (3) By 
refusing legislation recommended by the President, in order 
to embarrass his administration. (4) By withholding an 
appropriation necessary to carry out an executive policy. 

(5) By the use of a rider 1 to an appropriation bill. (6) By 
passing measures restricting the scope of executive powers; 
for example, requiring the President or his secretaries to 
do or refrain from doing something formerly left to their 
discretion. (7) By impeachment, “the heaviest piece of 
artillery in the congressional arsenal.” 

234 . Limitations on the Legislative Powers of Congress. 
Since the government of the United States is one of del- 
Generai egated powers, it follows that the legislative 
limitation authority of Congress is derived from the federal 
constitution and restricted by its terms. The power to 
legislate must be granted by the constitution either in ex¬ 
press terms or by necessary implication; or the power must 
be one which is necessary and proper to carry into effect 
powers therein granted. 

1 A “rider” is an unrelated piece of legislation attached to another legislative measure 
in order that it may ride through on the merits of the measure to which it is attached. 


CONGRESSIONAL METHODS 


171 


Further, an act of Congress must not violate any of the 
restrictions expressly imposed upon Congress by the federal 
constitution. These are found mainly in the first specific 
ten amendments, and also in Section 9 of Article i. Umltations 
The first ten amendments constitute a federal bill of rights, 
designed to secure personal and political rights (freedom 
of speech, trial by jury, and the like) from invasion on the 
part of the federal government. 

235 . Classification of Congressional Powers. The powers 
granted to Congress by the federal constitution may be 
classified under two heads: —• Express 

( 1 ) Express powers, or those specifically enu- powers 
merated in the constitution (Article 1 , Sec. 8 , also Article iv, 
Sec. 3). 

( 2 ) Implied powers, or those which Congress may exercise 
under its authority to make all laws “ necessary and 
proper” for carrying out the powers granted by implied 
the federal constitution . 1 While the federal gov- powers 
ernment is one of enumerated powers, it is not limited to 
powers expressly granted by the constitution, but may 
exercise others which are properly incident to express 
powers, and necessary to their execution. For example, “ the 
money powers of the federal legislature are held to give it 
the right to issue bonds and establish a system of national 
banks. Its power to regulate commerce invests it with au¬ 
thority to improve rivers and harbors, to maintain a coast 
survey, life-saving stations, and a naval observatory, to 
regulate the liabilities of ocean carriers and the charges of 
railroads, and to protect commerce against unlawful re¬ 
straints and monopolies, and illegal combinations and trusts. 
Its power to lay and collect taxes furnishes the authority for 
the establishment and maintenance of the whole elaborate 
system for the collection of the customs duties, and inter¬ 
nal revenue. Its authority to establish post offices and post 
roads includes the power to secure the passage of the mails 

1 United States Constitution, Art. i, Sec. 8, Par. 18. 


172 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


from all obstructions or interruptions, to punish offenses 
against the postal laws, to exclude lottery advertisements 
and indecent matter from the mails, and to grant to tele¬ 
graph companies a right of way over the public domain. 
Wherever Congress advances to fill the sphere of legisla¬ 
tive jurisdiction confided to it by the great grants of the 
constitution, there advances with it the right and power to 
choose the means by which its laws shall be made effectual, 
and which are appropriate to the ends it is designed to 
accomplish.” 1 


GENERAL REFERENCES 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), chs. xii-xiv. 

- Readings in American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xiv. 

Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth (1907), i, chs. xv-xvi, xviii. 
Follett, M. P., The Speaker of the House of Representatives (1904). 

Ford, H. J., The Rise and Growth of American Politics (1898), ch. xix. 
Fuller, H. B., Speakers of the House (1909). 

Hart, A. B., Actual Government (1903), ch. xiv. 

- Practical Essays on American Government (1905), nos. I, ix. 

Harrison, B., This Country of Ours (1903), chs. n-m. 

Kaye, P. L., Readings on Civil Government (1910), pp. 129-148. 
McConachie, L. G., Congressional Committees (1898). 

Munro, William B., The Government of the United States (1920), pp. 208-311. 
Moore, J. W., The American Congress (1895), ch. xxxiv. 

Reinsch, P. S., American Legislatures and Legislative Methods (1907), chs. 
i-m. 

- Readings on American Federal Government (1909), chs. vi, vii. 

Woodburn, James A., The American Republic and its Government (1908), 
pp. 257-315. 


QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. What is the number of the present Congress? When does its term 
begin and end? When is the long session? The short session? 

2. Give historical examples of important special sessions of Congress. 
What do you understand by the legislative calendar? The Congres¬ 
sional Record? 

3. Which political party has control in each house? What majority has 
the dominant party? 

4. To what extent may the federal government regulate elections to Con¬ 
gress? 

5. Discuss the position and powers of the Speaker of the House of Repre¬ 
sentatives, especially his powers (a) of recognition, (b) of referring bills 
to committees. 

1 Black, H. C., Constitutional Law, p. 237. _ 





CONGRESSIONAL METHODS 173 

6. Contrast the position of the Speaker of the House with that of the 
President of the Senate. 

7. Who is the Speaker of the present House? From what State does he 
come? Are Speakers frequently reelected? What Speaker served long¬ 
est in this position? 

8. Write an account of the struggle in the Sixty-first Congress to limit 
the powers of the Speaker. 

9. Summarize the advantages and defects of the committee system of 
legislation. 

10. Name the most important committees of each branch of Congress, and 
their chairmen. (See the latest Congressional Directory.) 

11. On which committees is your Representative? Committee positions 
of your Senators? 

12. What is meant by the committee of the whole? Describe the procedure 
in this committee. 

13. Were any important measures referred to conference committees at the 
last session? Were any vetoed by the President? 

14. Select a law which was passed at the last session of Congress, and learn 
when it was first introduced as a bill, to what committee it was re¬ 
ferred, when it was reported, how long debated and by whom, and the 
final vote upon it in the house where introduced. 

15. What volumes would you examine in order to ascertain the law of 
Congress upon any subject? 

16. Can a bill be carried through all its stages and become a law, all in 
one day? When does an act of Congress take effect? 

17. Contrast the rules of the Senate and the House concerning debate. 

18. Prepare a report upon the implied powers of Congress. 

19. Give instances of laws passed by Congress in the exercise of each of 
the following: financial powers; commercial powers; military powers; 
territorial powers; power to define and punish crimes; power to regu¬ 
late the election of presidential electors. Senators, and Representatives. 

20. Prepare an outline showing (a) the principal subjects of federal legis¬ 
lation; (b) of State legislation; (c) of local legislation. 

21. May the President submit drafts of bills to Congress? 

22. What do you understand by each of the following terms: the lobby; 
filibustering; log-rolling; party caucuses; strike bills; riders? 

23. Describe the obstruction methods sometimes resorted to in Congress. 


CHAPTER XVIII 

ORGANIZATION OF THE FEDERAL EXECUTIVE 


236 . Method of electing the President. Under the 
Articles of Confederation, there was no national executive, 
Debates in and this had proved one of the fatal defects of 
Sonafcon- the Confederation government. Hence in the 
vention Constitutional Convention of 1787, there was 
unanimity as to the need of an executive department. The 
method of election was the subject of prolonged debate, 
the proposed plans including election by direct vote of 
the people, by Congress, and by electors chosen in various 
ways. 

Shortly before adjournment, the Convention decided 
that the choice of a President should be entrusted to elec- 
Choice by tors c ^ osen suc ^ manner as the State legislatures 
Electoral direct. The arguments in favor of this method 
were that it would obviate the objections to both 
popular and congressional elections; and that it would en¬ 
trust the selection to men qualified to exercise a wise choice, 
and capable of acting independently and deliberately. This 
expectation of an independent choice has not been realized 
in practice, since the electors in casting their votes do not 
exercise discretion, but merely register the will of their 
party as expressed through its nominating convention. 
In spite of its serious defects, this method of indirect elec¬ 
tion has at least two advantages: (1) no President can be 
chosen who does not have supporters in about half the 
States, thus decreasing the danger of a sectional choice; 
and (2) it lessens the temptation to perpetrate election 
frauds in States which have large pluralities in favor of one 
of the political parties. 


ORGANIZATION OF FEDERAL EXECUTIVE 175 


237 . Number and Choice of Electors. Each State has a 
number of presidential electors equal to the aggregate 
number of Senators and Representatives to which Number 0 ! 
it is entitled in Congress. Thus New York having electors 
forty-three Representatives and two Senators is entitled 
to forty-five electors; while Nevada with one Representa¬ 
tive and two Senators has three electors. 

The manner of choosing electors is left to the State legis¬ 
latures, which have tried three different methods: Methods 
election by the legislature itself; popular election ot choice 
by single districts; and popular election by general ticket. 

At first in a majority of commonwealths, electors were 
chosen by the State legislatures; but with the Election by 
growth of democratic ideas this plan was grad- le s i3lature 
ually abandoned in favor of popular election, which now 
prevails in every State. 

Two different methods of popular election have been 
tried — the district and the general ticket systems. Under 
the district plan formerly used, each voter cast his Electlon 
ballot for three electors — one for the district in by popular 
which he lived and two for the State at large. vote 
Election by districts was gradually supplanted by the gen¬ 
eral ticket system, under which each voter casts his ballot 
for all the electors to which the State is entitled. Under 
the general ticket plan (now universal throughout the 
Union), the ticket of one party is usually carried entire, 
since its supporters ordinarily vote for all the electors, 
whose sole function is to vote for the party’s presidential 
candidate. This method concentrates the struggle in the 
doubtful States, especially in those which have large elec¬ 
toral votes . 1 

238 . Qualifications for Electors and Voters. The only 
constitutional qualification for electors is the negative 
one that they shall not hold any office of trust or profit 

1 In 1384, Grover Cleveland secured all of New York’s thirty-six electoral votes, although 
his plurality was only about one thousand out of a total of over one million votes cast in that 
State. 


176 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


under the United States. In practice the district electors 
must be residents of their respective districts. 

The qualifications for voters in presidential elections are 
the same as those for voters for the more numerous branch 
of the State legislature. Generally the suffrage is bestowed 
upon all male citizens twenty-one years of age who have 
resided within the State a certain period — frequently one 
year. 

239 . Time of Choosing Electors. Congress is empowered 
by the constitution to appoint a day for choosing the elec¬ 
tors, and this day is to be uniform throughout the United 
States. In 1845 Congress prescribed the Tuesday following 
the first Monday in November of each leap year . 1 The 
election held on this day is popularly called the presidential 
election, as it is in effect; but speaking strictly, no votes 
at all are given for President and Vice-President on that 
day, but only for certain electors. About two months later 
the electors who have been chosen meet, and by their votes 
elect the nominee of their party. 

240 . Meeting of the Electoral College. In each State the 

electors who have received a plurality of the popular vote 
_ assemble at the State capital on the second Mon- 

Casting the # ... 

electoral day in January following their election. Here 

they proceed to vote in distinct ballots for Pres¬ 
ident and Vice-President, one of whom at least must not 
be an inhabitant of their own State. Three duplicate lists 
are then made giving the names of all persons voted for 
as President and Vice-President, respectively, and the 
number of votes for each. To each of these lists is attached 
a copy of the certificate of election signed by the governor 
of the State. The lists are then signed by all the electors, 
sealed, and certified as containing all the votes of the State 
for President and Vice-President. A special messenger —• 
generally one of the electors — takes one of these lists to 
the President of the Senate at Washington; another list is 

1 Also in 1900, which was not a leap year. 


ORGANIZATION OF FEDERAL EXECUTIVE 177 


Process 


sent by mail to the same officer; and the third is depos¬ 
ited with the United States district judge of the district 
in which the electors meet. 

241 . Counting the Electoral Vote. In accordance with 
the statute passed in 1887, the count of the electoral vote 
occurs on the second Wednesday in February 
following the meeting of the electors. Both 
houses of Congress assemble in the hall of the House of 
Representatives, whereupon the President of the Senate 
opens the certificates, and the count is begun. The vote 
of a majority of all the electors appointed is necessary to 
the choice of both President and Vice-President. Except 
in case of disputed returns, the count is a mere form, since 
the result is ordinarily known three months before. 

242 . Election by the House of Representatives. The 
constitution requires for the election of President “a ma¬ 
jority of the whole number of electors appointed.” If no 
person has a majority, the House of Representatives, in 
accordance with the twelfth amendment, elects the Presi¬ 
dent by ballot from among the three candidates having the 
highest number of electoral votes. The vote in the House is 
taken by States, the delegation from each commonwealth 
having one vote; and a majority of all the States is necessary 
for a choice. In case the House does not choose a President 
before the fourth of March, the newly elected Vice-President 
becomes President. Two elections, that of 1800, and that 
of 1824, have been decided by the House. 

243 . Changes in the Process of Election. Four elec¬ 
tions were held under the original provision of the constitu¬ 
tion, but the election of 1800 demonstrated the Byconstl _ 
need of a separate ballot for President and Vice- tutionai 

. . amendment 

President in order to remove the possibility that 
the candidate for Vice-President might defeat the candidate 
intended for President. Accordingly the twelfth amendment 
was proposed by Congress in December, 1803, and ratified 
by the legislatures of three fourths of the States in the fol- 


178 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


lowing year. The principal points of difference between the 
original and the present methods are, that the electors now 
cast separate ballots for President and for Vice-President; 
and further, when the election devolves upon the House 
that body chooses from the three highest candidates, in 
stead of from the five highest, as under the original clause. 

The intention of the framers of the constitution was that 
the electors should act independently in selecting a President. 
By political But in the third election (1796), it was understood 
practice that the Federalist electors were to vote for 
Adams, and the Republican-Democratic electors for Jeffer¬ 
son; and since that time there has never been a case where 
an elector has voted contrary to the expectations of those 
who chose him. Candidates for President and Vice-Presi¬ 
dent are now nominated by national conventions 1 of the 
political parties (usually held in June or July), composed of 
delegates from each State (two from each congressional 
district and four from the State at large). After the nom¬ 
ination of candidates by the national convention, State or 
district conventions of each party nominate electors whose 
sole function if elected is to vote for the candidates pre¬ 
viously nominated. No provision of the constitution is 
stronger than the unwritten law that a presidential elector 
is required to vote for his party candidate. 

244 . The Inaugural Ceremony. The President-elect usu¬ 
ally goes to Washington a short time before March 4 , on 
which day the inaugural ceremony occurs. On 
the day of the inauguration, he is escorted by the 
committee in charge to the Executive Mansion 
or White House, and then accompanied by the outgoing 
President he proceeds to the capitol. The constitution 
requires that before entering upon his duties he shall take 
an oath to faithfully execute the office of President, and to 
preserve, protect, and defend the constitution. A plat¬ 
form is erected on the east front of the capitol, and here in 

1 See chapter xxx. 


Oath of 
office and 
address 



THE WHITE HOUSE 

This was the first public building erected after the seat of government was moved to Washing¬ 
ton. The corner-stone was laid by President Washington, Oct. 13, 1792. The first President 
to occupy it was John Adams, in 1800. Alterations and additions were made in 1902-3 and 
a new building for the Executive Offices erected; this is connected with the White House by 
an esplanade. 



THE STATE, WAR, AND NAVY DEPARTMENTS 

This structure ranks with the largest and most magnificent office buildings in the world. It 
has five hundred rooms and two miles of marble halls. 
























































THE POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT 



THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT 

This is second only to the National Capitol itself in architectural importance. 





























ORGANIZATION OF FEDERAL EXECUTIVE 179 


the presence of immense throngs of people, the oath is ad¬ 
ministered by the chief justice of the United States. The 
President then delivers an address outlining his proposed 
policies. This concludes the inaugural ceremony proper, 
after which the President returns to the White House and 
reviews a procession which is generally several hours in 
passing. 

245 . Presidential Term, Salary, and Qualifications. The 
original preference of the Constitutional Convention was 
for a single term of seven years, but this was Four-year 
finally changed to a term of four years, with no term 
restriction as to reeligibility. The term commences on the 
fourth day of March of each quadrennial year succeeding 
March 4, 1789. Precedent and custom having almost 
the force of law have placed a limit upon the number 
of terms a President may serve. Washington served two 
terms, but declined to be considered for a third, thereby 
establishing a precedent which has since been followed. 
In 1880 an effort was made to nominate ex-President Grant 
for a third term; but its failure served to strengthen the 
unwritten rule that no President is eligible for a third term . 1 

The qualifications prescribed by the constitution for 
the Presidency relate to citizenship, residence, and age. 
Natural-born citizens , 2 who have resided in this Q Ua iiftca- 
country at least fourteen years, and have at- tlon3 
tained the age of thirty-five years, are eligible. The Vice- 
President must have the same qualifications. 

The compensation of the President is fixed by Congress, 
but may not be increased or diminished during the exist¬ 
ing presidential term. The first salary act passed in 1789 

1 Nine Presidents have been reelected as their own successors, namely: Washington, 
Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, Lincoln, Grant, McKinley, and Wilson ; one Pres¬ 
ident, Cleveland, was reelected after an intervening term; and Roosevelt was elected 
President after he had succeeded to the office upon the assassination of McKinley. 

2 The constitution restricts eligibility to “ a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of the United 
States at the time of the adoption of this constitution.” The exception in this last clause 
was in favor of men of foreign birth (like Alexander Hamilton and James Wilson) who had 
performed splendid service during the Revolutionary period. It would have been ungra¬ 
cious to render such men ineligible to the presidential office ; hence the exception, which of 
course is no longer of practical effect. 


180 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Salary 


Functions 


fixed the President’s salary at $25,000 a year; in 1873 this 
was changed to $50,000, and in 1909 to the pres¬ 
ent salary, $75,000. In addition, Congress pays 
certain expenses connected with the White House, and 
makes other allowances for expenses incidental to the presi¬ 
dential office. The annual salary of the Vice-President is 
$12,500. 

246 . The Vice-President. In case of failure to elect a 
President, or of his death, resignation, inability to discharge 

his duties, or removal by impeachment, the office 
devolves upon the Vice-President. The ordinary 
function of the Vice-President is to preside over the de¬ 
liberations of the Senate; but he is not a member of this 
body, and his influence upon the Senate is ordinarily slight, 
since he does not appoint its committees and has no vote 
except in case of a tie. 

The Vice-President is generally nominated not with ref¬ 
erence to his fitness to succeed the President, but because 
of his “availability” — to help carry a doubtful 
State, or to placate a defeated faction in the 
nominating convention. Yet five times in our history the 
succession has devolved upon the Vice-President. By the 
death of Harrison in 1841 and of Taylor in 1850, Tyler 
and Fillmore, respectively, became Presidents; and by the 
assassination of Lincoln in 1865, of Garfield in 1881, and 
of McKinley in 1901, Johnson, Arthur, and Roosevelt, re¬ 
spectively, succeeded to the Presidency. 1 

247 . Election of Vice-President by the Senate. The 
Vice-President is chosen by electors in exactly the same 

manner as the President; but if no person receives 
a majority of all the electoral votes for Vice- 
President, then in accordance with the constitution the 
Senate elects that officer from the two candidates having the 
highest number of electoral votes, a majority of the whole 

1 The succession of both Tyler and Johnson proved a serious disappointment to the party 
which had elected them. Each had been nominated because of his “availability” — to 
strengthen the ticket. 


Succession 


Method 
il choice 


ORGANIZATION OF FEDERAL EXECUTIVE 181 


Aot o! 1886 


number of Senators being necessary to a choice. The Sen¬ 
ators vote as individuals, each member having one vote. 1 

248. Statutory Presidential Succession. Congress is 
empowered to designate by law who shall succeed in case 
the offices of both President and Vice-President 
become vacant — a contingency which has never 
yet occurred. 2 In 1886 Congress passed the present law, 
which, with later amendments, provides for succession by 
cabinet officers in the following order: Secretary of State, 
Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of War, Attorney- 
General, Postmaster-General, Secretary of the Navy, Sec¬ 
retary of the Interior. In order that the succession may 
devolve upon a cabinet officer, it is necessary that he shall 
have the constitutional qualifications prescribed for the 
Presidency. 


GENERAL REFERENCES 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), ch. ix. 

Black, H. C., American Constitutional Law (1897), pp. 89-97. 

Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth (1907), 1 , ch. v. 

Ford, H. J., The Rise and Growth of American Politics (1898), ch. xxn. 
Hamilton, Jay, and Madison, The Federalist (ed. by Lodge, 1904), nos. 

LXVII-LXXII. 

Harrison, Benjamin, This Country of Ours (1903), chs. iv-v. 

Hart, A. B., Actual Government (1903), ch. xv. 

- Practical Essays on American Government (1905), no. nr. 

Kaye, P. L., Readings in Civil Government (1910), pp. 184-196. 

Munro, William B., The Government of the United States (1920), pp. 88-104, 
Schouler, James, Constitutional Studies (1904), pp. 156-168. 

Stan wood, Edward, History of the Presidency (1904). 

Wilson, Woodrow, The State (1906), secs. 1324-1333. 

Woodburn, James A., The American Republic and its Government (1908). 
pp. 94-142. 

1 Only once in our political history has the choice of Vice-President devolved upon the 
Senate. In the election of 1836, Richard M. Johnson received 147 electoral votes for Vice- 
President out of a total of 294, lacking one vote of the requisite majority. He was chosen 
by the Senate, the vote standing: Johnson, 33; Granger, 16. 

2 The statute of 1792 provided that the President pro tern of the Senate should be next in 
succession, then the Speaker of the House, — a new presidential election to follow within 
two months. 



182 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. Discuss the arguments of Hamilton and Madison in the Constitutional 
Convention as to the length of the presidential term. 

2. Prepare a report upon the methods of presidential election proposed 
in the Constitutional Convention. 

3. What method of electing the President do you consider best? Reasons? 

4. How many members in the electoral college at present? How is this 
number fixed? What number of electoral votes is necessary to a choice? 

5. How many electors has your State? Which political party generally 
carries your State in presidential elections? 

6. What qualifications are required in your State to entitle one to vote 
for presidential electors? 

7. What would be the advantages of having electors chosen by congres¬ 
sional districts with two at large for each State, instead of upon a gen¬ 
eral ticket? 

8. Describe the process by which the Presidency has been made a repre¬ 
sentative, democratic institution (Section 243). In other words, the 
difference between the theory and the practice of presidential elec¬ 
tions. 

9. Who were the candidates at the last presidential election? How were 
they nominated? Who were the candidates for Vice-President? 

10. Who were the delegates-at-large from your State and the delegates 
from your district at the last Republican and Democratic national 
conventions? How were they chosen? 

11. What electoral vote was received by each of the two principal candi¬ 
dates at the last presidential election? What was the popular vote 
for each? 

12. What was the previous public service of our President before his elec¬ 
tion to the Presidency? Are successful governors often nominated 
for the Presidency? 

13. Compare the chief planks of the two party platforms in the last presi¬ 
dential election. Has the successful party fulfilled the pledges of its 
platform? 

14. Name the Presidents who received a minority of the popular vote. 

15. Which States and which sections of the country have had the greatest 
number of Presidents? 

16. Describe the presidential inauguration. 

17. Discuss the former and present rule of presidential succession. 

18. Prepare a report upon the presidential elections of 1800 and 1824. 

19. Prepare a report upon the disputed election of 1876. 


CHAPTER XIX 

THE PRESIDENT’S POWERS AND DUTIES 


249. General Characteristics of the Federal Executive. 

The federal constitution, like the State constitutions, es¬ 
tablishes the executive department as an inde- Impor _ 
pendent and coordinate branch of the govern- tance of 
ment; but unlike the State constitutions, it vests Presldeucy 
executive power in a single individual — the President. 
Elected as the representative of the nation, and entrusted 
with large powers and corresponding responsibilities, the 
President is the most imposing as well as the most power¬ 
ful factor in our national government. “A chief magis¬ 
trate who wields the whole military and no inconsiderable 
share of the civil power of the state, who can incline the 
scale to war and forbid the return of peace, whose veto will 
stay the course of legislation, who is the source of the 
enormous patronage which is the main lever in the pol¬ 
itics of the United States, exercises functions which are 
more truly regal than those of an English monarch.” 1 

Since the executive is an independent branch of the gov¬ 
ernment, it follows that in the performance of his duties the 
President is subject to the control of no other de- Executlvo 
partment or body. He cannot be arrested for any independ- 
reason whatsoever, and is answerable for mis- ence 
conduct only before one tribunal — the Senate of the United 
States organized as a court of impeachment. 

250. Classification of Executive Powers. The powers of 
the President are enumerated in Article 11, Sections 2 
and 3 of the constitution, and may be classified as follows: 
( 1 ) military powers; ( 2 ) administrative powers; ( 3 ) dip¬ 
lomatic powers; ( 4 ) legislative powers; ( 5 ) judicial powers. 

1 Hare, J. I. C., American Constitutional Law, i, 173. 


184 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


251. Military Powers of the President. The President’s 

military powers arise (1) by virtue of his position as com¬ 
mander-in-chief; (2) from his general duty to enforce the 
laws; and (3) from the federal guaranty to the State govern¬ 
ments of protection against invasion or domestic violence. 

252. Position as Commander-in-Chief. The constitution 
provides “that the President shall be commander-in-chief 
of the army and navy of the United States, and of the 
militia of the several States, when called into actual service 
of the United States.” 1 By virtue of his position as com¬ 
mander-in-chief, the President regulates the disposition of 
the military and naval forces, both in time of peace and 
war; he appoints and dismisses all officers both of the army 
and navy; supervises the execution of the military law by 
which the army and navy are governed; calls out any part 
of the State militia when in his judgment such action is 
necessary to execute the laws of the Union, suppress in¬ 
surrection, or repel invasion; and when war has been de¬ 
clared or when hostilities actually exist, he wages war as 
supreme commander. Not that the President is expected to 
take the field in person, but he has general charge of mili¬ 
tary movements. “ In theory he plans all campaigns, estab¬ 
lishes all blockades and sieges, directs all marches, fights 
all battles.” 2 

In time of war the President’s powers may so expand as 
to make him almost a dictator, as was practically the case 

__ with President Lincoln during the Civil War. 

practically Without waiting for action by Congress, the Pres- 
uniimited j^ent proclaimed a blockade of the Southern 

ports, called for 75,000 volunteers, and increased the regular 
army by 22,000 men. Later, by the exercise of his authority, 
the writ of habeas corpus was suspended; martial law was 
declared in many districts; arrests were made upon military 
warrant with trial before military courts; and provisional 
governments were established in hostile territory. Finally, 


1 Constitution, Art. XI, Sec. 2, 


2 Pomeroy, J. N., Constitutional Law, sec 706. 


THE PRESIDENT S POWERS AND DUTIES 185 


— the crowning example of the President’s absolute power 
in time of war, — the Emancipation Proclamation was is¬ 
sued (January 1, 18 G 3 ), freeing the slaves in the States then 
in rebellion. 

253. Duty to enforce the Laws. The exercise of the 
President’s military powers may at any time result in con¬ 
sequence of his important and comprehensive Meth0(lg 
duty to “take care that the laws be faithfully of law 
executed.” 1 Ordinarily the execution of the laws enforcement 
proceeds along peaceful lines and can be carried on through 
the civil administration. Individuals who violate federal 
laws are arrested by United States marshals or their dep¬ 
uties, and tried before the proper federal court. But in 
case resistance to federal law becomes so serious that the 
civil powers cannot cope with it, the President is authorized 
to employ the military arm of the government to restore 
order; and it is for him to determine when such necessity 
exists, and which branch of the military service — the 
militia or the regular army — shall be used. 

On several occasions in our history the President has 
found it necessary to use military force in order to execute 
the laws. In 1794 President Washington called Employment 
out the militia from four States in order to sup- of military 
press the so-called Whiskey Rebellion. The Civil lorce 
War was of course the most notable instance when the Ex¬ 
ecutive was obliged to resort to military force to execute 
the laws. Again, during the railway strikes of 1877 and 
1894 , mob violence interfered with the performance of cer¬ 
tain functions of the national government, especially the 
transportation of the United States mails; and on both 
occasions regular troops were employed to overcome the 
resistance. 

254. Protection of the States. The constitution provides 
that “the United States shall guarantee to every State in 
this Union a republican form of government, and shall pro- 

1 Constitution, Art. H, Sec. 3. 


186 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


tect each of them against invasion; and on application of the 
Federal in- legislature, or of the executive (when the legis- 
tervention l a t U re cannot be convened), against domestic 
violence.” 1 In order to give effect to this guaranty against 
domestic violence, Congress has authorized the President, 
on application of the State legislature or executive, to order 
out such numbers of the militia as he deems necessary to 
suppress the insurrection. It is for the President to decide 
whether the exigency exists upon which the federal govern¬ 
ment is bound to interfere. In case of a conflict between 
rival State governments, it may devolve upon him to deter¬ 
mine which is the rightful authority and to suppress the 
opposition . 2 

Under some circumstances the President need not await 
the application of the State authorities before intervening. 

intervention For exam pl e > if domestic violence within a com- 
to execute monwealth violates federal law and interrupts the 
federal laws ( jj sc ] iar g e fa e f unc tions of the national govern¬ 
ment, the President may act without awaiting the applica¬ 
tion of the State government. In such cases federal inter¬ 
vention is authorized under the clause of the constitution 
requiring the President to “take care that the laws be 
faithfully executed.” 3 

255. Administrative Powers. The chief administrative 
function of the Executive is to carry into effect the laws 

Federal ad- P asse< ^ by Congress. In discharging this duty the 
ministration President is aided by a large number of executive 
centralized 0 fg c i a i S) w h Q are responsible to him as head of the 

administration. Most of these officers are appointed by the 
President either directly or through his immediate sub¬ 
ordinates; and practically all of them, from cabinet officer 


1 Constitution, Art. iv. Sec. 4. 

2 Thus in the case of Dorr’s rebellion in Rhode Island (1841-42), the President recognized 
the charter governor as the lawful executive and took steps toward calling out the militia 
to support his authority; and because of this action the rebellion collapsed. Again in 1873, 
a conflict between two rival governments in Louisiana was settled by federal troops. 

* A notable instance of intervention under these circumstances was President Cleveland’s 
action during the great railway strike of 1894, when he ordered United States troops into 
Illinois to enforce the postal laws and the provisions of the Interstate Commerce Act. 


THE PRESIDENT’S POWERS AND DUTIES 187 


down to federal marshal, may be removed by him. Thus 
the distinctive feature of the federal administration is the 
direct control exercised by the President through his power 
of appointment and removal. In sharp contrast with the 
State executive, the President is the actual as well as the 
nominal head of the administration. 

256. The Power of Appointment. The President’s power 
of appointment is conferred by the constitution in the fol¬ 
lowing provision: “He shall nominate, and by Constitu 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, tionai pro- 
shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers vlsion 
and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other 
officers of the United States, whose appointments are not 
herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be estab¬ 
lished by law; but the Congress may by law vest the ap¬ 
pointment of such inferior officers as they think proper, in 
the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads 
of departments.” 1 The officers whose appointments are 
“otherwise provided for” are the President and Vice-Pres¬ 
ident, the presidential electors, members of the Senate and 
House, and the several officers of these two houses. All 
other officers of the United States are appointed either: 
(1) by the President subject to confirmation by the Sen¬ 
ate; or (2) in the case of inferior officers, by the President 
alone, by the courts of law, or by the heads of depart¬ 
ments. 

257. Officers appointed by Concurrent Action of Pres¬ 
ident and Senate. The class of officers appointed by the 
President with the advice and consent of the Sen- Processla 
ate is comparatively small (12,000 out of 587,000 making ap- 
federal officials), but it comprises the most impor- pointme21ts 
tant officers of the government. The customary process 
of appointment is for the President, after private conference 
with individual Senators from the States in which the ap¬ 
pointees live, to send to the Senate the names of the 


1 Constitution, Art. 11, Sec. 2. 


188 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


persons selected for certain offices. 1 The Senate refers these 
nominations to the appropriate standing committee; and the 
committee confers with the Senators of the State from which 
the nominee comes (if of the same political party as the 
President) to ascertain whether there is objection to the 
appointment. A report is then made to the Senate eithe 
favorably or adversely to the nominee, and that body con¬ 
firms or rejects the appointment. If the nomination is con¬ 
firmed, the President on being notified issues a commission 
to the officer, thereby completing the appointment; while if 
the nominee is rejected, the President must make a second 
choice. 

An exception to the usual process of appointment arises 
Recess ap- in case of vacancies which occur from death, re- 
pointments nioya^ or resignation during the recess of the 
Senate. In such cases the President may make temporary 
appointments at his sole discretion; but such an appoint¬ 
ment terminates at the end of the next session of the Sen¬ 
ate, unless meantime confirmed by that body. 

258. Appointment of Inferior Officers. Under the con¬ 
stitution, Congress is empowered to vest the appointment 
Method of °f inferior officers in the President alone, in the 
appointment cour ts of law, or in the heads of departments. Ac¬ 
cordingly the President appoints the clerks in his office, and 
indirectly (through his department heads) controls the 
appointment of many other officials; the judges appoint 
the clerks and reporters of their courts; and the cabinet 
officers appoint most of their subordinates. A large major¬ 
ity of these inferior federal offices are now filled in accord¬ 
ance with the rules of the civil service. 

259. The Power of Removal. The general rule as to re¬ 
movals is that the President may at any time remove any 
officer in the federal service for reasons which he deems 
sufficient. Exceptions to this statement are the federal 

1 Provided those Senators are of the same political party as the President. In the case of 
minor appointments within a congressional district, the President ordinarily confers with the 
Representative from that district (if of the same political party as the President), and is 
more or less guided by his recommendation. 


THE PRESIDENT’S POWERS AND DUTIES 189 


Judges, who hold office during good behavior and can only 
be removed through impeachment; and military and naval 
officers, who in time of peace can only be removed through 
the decision of a court-martial. 

The constitution is silent concerning the power of re¬ 
moval, but by legislative construction and executive prac¬ 
tice the principle has become established that the Tenure of 
President may remove officers without the con- 0MiceAct 
sent of the Senate. Only once has there been a depar¬ 
ture from this construction, — in the Tenure of Office Act 
of 1867. This measure in effect required the consent of the 
Senate to the removal of officers appointed by the concurrent 
action of the President and Senate. After being materially 
modified in 1869, this act was at length entirely repealed 
(1887), thereby re-affirming the principle that removal 
from office is an exclusive power of the Executive. 

, 260 . Term of Federal Officers. Most of the important 
officials in the executive service are appointed for four 
years, re-appointment not being customary. This class in¬ 
cludes territorial judges and governors, marshals, district 
attorneys, the chiefs of many bureaus, customs collectors, 
Indian agents, pension agents, and postmasters of the first 
three classes. Cabinet officers are appointed without limit 
of term, and serve during the pleasure of the President. 
Subordinate officials under the classified civil service are 
also appointed for an indefinite term, holding office as long 
as they serve efficiently. This permanence of tenure for 
subordinate executive officials was only established after a 
long experience of the evils of the spoils system, introduced 
at the beginning of Jackson’s first administration (1829). 
Its demoralizing effects upon the public service continued 
unchecked until the administration of President Arthur 
(1883). 

261 . Civil Service Reform. Finally, in 1883 public opin¬ 
ion compelled Congress to pass a Civil Service Act 1 de- 

1 Civil service denotes the executive branch of the government, as distinguished from 
legislative, judicial, military, and naval offices. 


190 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Civil 
Service 
Act of 1883 


signed to make appointment to subordinate executive of¬ 
fices depend upon individual merit, rather than 
upon partisan service. This act created the 
United States Civil Service Commission, con¬ 
sisting of three persons (not more than two belonging to the 
same political party), appointed by the President with the 
consent of the Senate. Other important provisions are as 
follows: (1) It provides for open, competitive, practical 
examinations for all applicants for positions in the classi¬ 
fied service. (2) These positions are to be filled by selection 
according to grade from among those applicants standing 
highest on the examinations, a period of probation to pre¬ 
cede final appointment. (3) Appointments are to be appor¬ 
tioned among the several States and territories according to 
population. (4) No appointee can be required to contribute 
to any political fund or to perform any political service. 
(5) No Senator or Representative is allowed to recommend 
any applicant to the examining board. (6) The appointing 
power is required to notify the commission of the selection 
of applicants from those recommended as a result of the 
examination; also of the rejection of applicants after proba¬ 
tion, and of transfers, resignations, and removals. 

The Civil Service Commission appoints a chief examiner 
and boards of examiners who conduct examinations not less 

Examination than twice eac ^ y ear a t Washington, D.C., and 

and pro- in the various States and territories. These ex- 
motions • . • , • i • i a i* 

animations are practical m character, having 

special reference to the nature of the work which the appli¬ 
cant is to perform. The commission has instituted a sys¬ 
tem of promotion from the lower to the higher grades of the 
public service, thus encouraging efficiency by enabling com¬ 
petent officials to advance to higher positions. 

The number of officers included under the original act was 
Extent oi about 14,000. Subsequent Presidents, especially 
civil service Cleveland, Harrison, and Roosevelt, have greatly 

extended its operation by executive orders, until at present 


THE PRESIDENT’S POWERS AND DUTIES 191 


the total number of federal employees subject to the merit 
system is about 330,000. The classified service now includes 
nearly all the clerks in Washington (the so-called depart¬ 
mental service); officials in the postal service, including 
letter-carriers and clerks in post offices and the railway mail 
service; together with employees in customs houses, in the 
revenue service, the government printing-office, and the 
Indian service. 

The merit system of appointment has greatly improved 
the public service. It proceeds upon the theory that a 
public office is a public trust, not the political 

x A 1 AdvRnt&§08 

prize of a party victory. It makes appointment 
to such office depend upon merit and promotion upon 
efficiency, thus placing government service as nearly as 
possible upon a business basis. Undoubtedly it has defects, 
but it marks a great advance upon the proscription and de¬ 
moralization that existed for over fifty years under the 
spoils system. 

262. Diplomatic Powers. The President’s diplomatic 
powers include: ( 1 ) the power to appoint ambassadors, 
ministers, consuls, and other commissioners to foreign 
countries; ( 2 ) the power to receive foreign ambassadors 
and representatives; (3) the power to make treaties by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate. Through the 
agency of our representatives abroad, the President has sole 
control of the ordinary intercourse between the United 
States and other nations; but his power to conclude treaties 
or formal compacts with other nations is shared by the 
Senate. 

263. Appointing and receiving Representatives. The 

constitution provides that the President shall appoint all 

ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls, Control 0l 

subject to the consent of the Senate; but once foreign 
^ intercourse 

appointed, these officers are under his sole control. 

“They communicate alone with the Executive through the 
State Department. Instructions are sent to them, dis- 


192 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


patches forwarded, demands made, claims insisted on, 
principles adopted and enforced, as the President deems 
proper.” 1 The management of foreign affairs is entrusted 
to the Department of State, at the head of which is the 
Secretary of State, who acts under the direct personal con¬ 
trol of the President. 

The President’s power to receive ambassadors and other 
public ministers is in most cases merely a ceremonial duty; 
Receiving but it may involve important consequences, since 
represent- t ^ ie President must exercise his discretion in 
aiives receiving, or refusing to receive, the minister 
from a state claiming to be independent, but whose inde¬ 
pendence has not been generally recognized. Moreover, 
he may refuse to receive a particular person in those excep¬ 
tional cases where the foreign representative is personally 
objectionable (;persona non grata ) to our government. 
Should relations between the United States and a foreign 
power become seriously estranged, the President may dis¬ 
miss the foreign minister, thus involving a suspension of 
diplomatic relations and the probability of war. The Pres¬ 
ident’s power of regulating foreign intercourse is a mo¬ 
mentous one: he cannot declare war, but he can so conduct 
foreign affairs as to incline the scale toward peace or war . 2 

264 . The Power to make Treaties. By the constitution 
the President is vested with the power to negotiate treaties 

Negotiation an d conven ti° ns with other countries. The nego- 
and ratifica- tiation of treaties is conducted by the President 
through the Department of State; but during the 
process of negotiation he generally consults with the Senate 
committee on foreign relations, and with the leaders of 
the senatorial majority. After the treaty has been framed, 
it is submitted to the Senate, where it is discussed in exec- 


1 Pomeroy, J. N., Constitutional Law, sec. 671. 

1 In 1846, before the outbreak of the Mexican War, President Polk ordered troops into 
the disputed territory, where they were attacked by the Mexicans; and Congress then de¬ 
clared that “ war existed by the act of the Republic of Mexico/’ At a later date, President 
Cleveland’s famous Venezuelan message seemed likely to involve this country in war with 
Great Britain. 


r - ~ ~-- 




i 









BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
A PROCLAMATION. 



This year of 1910 is drawing to a close. The records of popula¬ 
tion and harvests which are the index of progress show vigorous national 
growth and the health and prosperous well-being of our communities through¬ 
out this land and in our possessions beyond the seas. These blessings 
have not descended upon us in restricted measure, but overflow and abound. 

They are the blessings and bounty of God. 

We continue to be at peace with the rest of the world. In all essen¬ 
tial matters our relations with other peoples are harmonious, with an ever¬ 
growing reality of friendliness and depth of recognition of mutual dependence. 
It is especially to be noted that during the past year great progress has been 
achieved in the cause of arbitration and the peaceful settlement of interna¬ 
tional disputes. 

Now, therefore, I, William Howard Taft, President of the United States 
of America, in accordance with the wise custom of the civil magistrate since 
the first settlements in this land and with the rule established from the 
foundation of this Government, do appoint Thursday, November 24,1910, as a 
day of National Thanksgiving and Prayer, enjoining the people upon that day 
to meet in their churches for the praise of Almighty God and to return 
heartfelt thanks to Him for all His goodness and loving-kindness. 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of 

the United States to be affixed. 

Done at the City of Washington this fifth day of 

November, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine 
hundred and ten and of the independence of the 
United States the one hundred and thirty-fifth. 



A PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION 











AN EARLY ATTEMPT AT IRRIGATION 

Before the National Government took up this work, methods were crude and results 

unsatisfactory. 





Courtesy , Department of Agriculture. 
PRESENT METHODS OF IRRIGATION 












THE PRESIDENT’S POWERS AND DUTIES 193 


utive or secret session. Ratification requires the affirmative 
vote of two thirds of the Senators present. If finally ac¬ 
cepted by both nations, duplicate parchment copies signed 
by the accredited representatives are exchanged; and the 
President then publishes the treaty by means of a procla¬ 
mation. By a provision of the federal constitution, treaties 
are made a part of the supreme law of the land; and hence 
any conflicting provision of a State law or constitution is 
thereby abrogated . 1 

265 . Legislative Powers. The powers of the President 
in legislation may be considered under three heads: ( 1 ) his 
power of convening and adjourning Congress upon extraor¬ 
dinary occasions; ( 2 ) his power to recommend desirable 
legislation; (3) his power to veto any measure passed by 
Congress. 

266 . Convening and adjourning Congress. Unforeseen 
contingencies may arise during the recess of Congress which 
imperatively require the assembling of that body; hence 
the constitution provides that the President may, “on 
extraordinary occasions, convene both houses or either of 
them.” 2 A newly inaugurated President often calls an 
extra session of the Senate alone, to consider nominations 
to cabinet offices and other important positions; and in 
exceptional cases it may be necessary to convene the Senate 
in special session for the consideration of a treaty. 

267 . Power to recommend Legislation. The constitu¬ 
tion enjoins upon the President the duty to “give to the 
Congress information of the state of the Union, and rec¬ 
ommend to their consideration such measures as he shall 
judge necessary and expedient.” 3 Under Washington and 
Adams, it was the practice for the President to deliver an 
oral address to the two houses assembled in joint conven¬ 
tion. Jefferson inaugurated the present custom of sending to 

1 Treaties and laws of Congress are of equal authority; and if there is a conflict between 
a statute and a treaty, the later law whether statute or treaty prevails; and the earlier one 
is, to the extent of the conflict, displaced. 

a Constitution, Art. n, Sec. 3. 


3 Constitution, Art. u, Sec 7. 


194 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


each house by a private secretary a written copy of the 
annual message . 1 This document generally discusses the 
important political questions of the day, points out defects 
in existing legislation, and suggests remedies. It is not 
customary for the President or his cabinet to prepare and 
present bills, although proposed measures are often sub¬ 
mitted to him for comment, and are sometimes drawn in 
accordance with his suggestions. But with regard to most 
legislation, the President’s initiative is limited to suggest¬ 
ing or outlining desirable policies; and for the adoption of 
his recommendations he relies upon private conference with 
members and committees, and upon personal influence 
with the party and committee leaders in each house. 

268 . The Presidential Veto. By far the most important 
of the President’s legislative powers is his veto. Every bill, 
__ „ . order, resolution, or vote to which the concur- 

dealing rence of the two houses is necessary (except a 

with bills - • ■ 1 . • 1 

question 01 adjournment or a proposed constitu¬ 
tional amendment) must be presented to the President for 
his approval. When a bill is sent to the President, he may 
deal with it in one of four different ways. ( 1 ) He may sign 
it, whereupon it becomes a law — the usual course with 
most bills. ( 2 ) He may leave it unsigned, and at the end of 
ten days (Sundays excepted), it becomes a law without his 
signature. (3) He may veto the bill — that is, return it with 
his objections to the house in which it originated. The ob¬ 
jections are then entered at large upon the journal, where¬ 
upon the bill can become a law only by being passed by a 
two-thirds vote of each house; and the vote in such cases 
must be by roll-call. (4) In case Congress adjourns before 
the expiration of the ten days given to the President for 
the consideration of every bill, he may defeat the measure 
by refraining from signing it — this being an exercise of the 
so-called “pocket veto.” 

1 However, President Wilson has followed the precedent established by Washington and 
Adams, and read his annual message to the two houses assembled in joint convention. 


THE PRESIDENT’S POWERS AND DUTIES 195 


The presidential veto is thus a limited or qualified one, 
operating as a salutary check on hasty or ill-advised legis¬ 
lation. Originally designed as a check upon un- Theory of 
constitutional measures, especially legislative en- the veto 
croachments upon the executive or judiciary, the power 
veto power has been freely used in practice to defeat legisla¬ 
tion deemed by the executive to be unwise or inexpedient. 
Hence the principle is now well settled that the President is 
to use his independent judgment on every bill passed by 
Congress, “ not sheltering himself under the representa¬ 
tives of the people, or foregoing his own opinion at their 
bidding.” 

The use of the veto power is restricted by the fact that 
the President must approve or reject the bill as a whole; he 
cannot, for example, veto particular items in an 

xkIuOTS 

appropriation bill. Hence measures which other¬ 
wise could not receive the executive sanction are sometimes 
inserted as “riders” in appropriation bills, thereby com¬ 
pelling the Executive either to accept the obnoxious rider, 
or to incur the responsibility of defeating indispensable 
appropriations. 

269 . Judicial Powers. The President has power “to grant 
reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, 
except in cases of impeachment.” 1 “A pardon Pardoning 
is an act of grace, proceeding from the power power 
entrusted with the execution of the laws, which exempts 
the individual on whom it is bestowed from the punishment 
the law inflicts for a crime he has committed.” The lan¬ 
guage conferring this power is general, and hence the par¬ 
don may be absolute or conditional; may be issued before 
or during the trial of the accused, or after conviction and 
sentence; and may be granted to one or a class of individ¬ 
uals. The President’s power to pardon extends only to 
offenses against federal, not State laws; and he cannot 
pardon in case of impeachment. 

1 Constitution, Art. n. Sec. 2. 


196 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


A reprieve is simply the suspension of a sentence, de- 
Reprieves ferring its execution without changing the sub¬ 
stance of the punishment. 

GENERAL REFERENCES 

Ashley, R. L., The American Federal State (1903), secs. 337-351. 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), ch. x. 

- Readings in American Government and Politics (1910), ch. x. 

Black, H. C., American Constitutional Law (1897), pp. 97-122. 

Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth (1907), i, ch. vi. 

Cooley, Thomas M., Constitutional Law (1898), ch. v. 

Fairlie, J. A., National Administration of the United States (1905), chs. i-n. 
Fish, C. R., The Civil Service and the Patronage (1905). 

Hamilton, Jay, and Madison, The Federalist (ed. by Lodge, 1904), nos. 
lxxiii-lxxvii. 

Harrison, Benjamin, This Country of Ours (1903), chs. vi-x. 

Mason, E. C., The Veto Pnw n r (1890). 

McClain, E., Constitutional Law (1905), chs. xix-xxiii. 

Munro, William B., The Government of the United States (1920), pp. 105-125. 
Pomeroy, J. N., Constitutional Law (10th ed., 1888), secs. 628-714. 
Reinsch, P. S., Readings on American Federal Government (1909), chs. i-iii, 

XIII. 

United States Civil Service Commission, Last Annual Report. 

Wilson, Woodrow, Constitutional Government in the United States (1908), 
ch. in. 

Woodburn, James A., The American Republic and its Government (1908), 
pp. 142-194. 

Young, James T., The New American Government and its Work (1915), ch. n. 

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. May Congress assign to the President duties not specified in the con¬ 
stitution? Or forbid the exercise of duties imposed by the constitution? 

2. May Congress require the President to state reasons for an official 
action? 

3. May the President be sued on account of an official action? May he 
be summoned as a witness? 

4. What powers may the President exercise under his authority to execute 
the laws of the Union? 

5. Prepare a report upon the military powers exercised by President Lin¬ 
coln during the Civil War. 

6. Explain how the President may involve the country in war notwith¬ 
standing the right to declare war is vested in Congress. 

7. Prepare a report upon the President’s power to suppress domestic 
violence as exemplified by President Cleveland’s action in 1894. 
( McClure's Magazine (1904), xxm, 227-240.) 

8. May Congress designate persons to be promoted in the military serv¬ 
ice? In creating an office, may Congress designate the person who shall 
fill it? 

9. May Congress provide by law that an executive official shall hold 
office during good behavior? 



THE PRESIDENT’S POWERS AND DUTIES 197 

10. May Congress by statute require the heads of departments to be re¬ 
sponsible directly to Congress? 

11. Give a history of the Tenure of Office Act of 1867. 

12. Has the Senate any control over removals? Why should the President 
alone exercise the power of removal? 

13. May Congress by statute provide that the President shall state reasons 
for removals? 

14. Prepare a list of the principal officers appointed by the President 
subject to confirmation by the Senate; of officials appointed by the 
President alone; by the heads of departments. 

15. Compare the President’s power of appointment with that of your 
State governor; of your mayor. 

16. Make the same comparison with regard to the President’s power of 
removal. 

17. May an official of the United States at the same time hold office under 
a State or territorial government? 

18. Prepare a report upon the Spoils System. 

19. Prepare a report upon Civil Service Reform. 

20. Examine a copy of the President’s message to Congress and ascer¬ 
tain: (a) what topics receive most consideration; (b) what recom¬ 
mendations are made as to legislation. State which of these recom¬ 
mendations were enacted into law. 

21. May the President sign a bill after Congress adjourns? 

22. May either house require the President to submit papers? 

23. Was President Johnson bound to carry out the reconstruction acts 
which he vetoed? 

24. What would be the advantage of giving the President power to veto 
part of a bill? How could this be done? 

25. Discuss fully the treaty which closed the Spanish-American War, 
especially (a) the process of negotiation, (b) the chief provisions, 
(c) the method of ratification. 

26. Has the House of Representatives any control over treaties? 

27. Is there any limitation upon the President’s pardoning power? 


CHAPTER XX 

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 


270. The Federal Executive Departments. Ten federal 

executive departments have been created by Congress to 
Constitu assist the President in carrying out his executive 
tionai and administrative duties; and the heads of these 
provision departments comprise what is popularly called 

the President’s cabinet. The executive departments are not 
directly established by the constitution, but are recognized 
in the clause providing that the President “may require 
the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the 
executive departments, upon any subject relating to the 
duties of their respective offices.” 1 

The executive departments were organized by Congress 
in the following order: — 

State, 1789; War, 1789; Treasury, 1789; Post Office, 
1794; 2 Navy, 1798; Interior, 1849; Justice, 1870; 3 Agri¬ 
culture, 1889; 4 Commerce, 1903; Labor, 1913. 

271. The President’s Cabinet. The heads of these ten 
departments are appointed by the President, subject to 

. 4 the consent of the Senate. Since they are his con- 

Appoint- . ... 

ment and fidential advisers, each President ordinarily forms 

a new cabinet, the members of which hold office 
during his pleasure. Sometimes the President selects for 
cabinet positions men who have had little experience in 
politics, but more frequently he chooses prominent party 
leaders. Cabinet meetings are generally held twice a week 


1 Constitution , Art. n, Sec. 2, Par. 1. 

2 The Postmaster-General did not become a member of the cabinet until 1829. 

3 The office of attorney-general has existed since 1789, although the Department of 
Justice was not organized in its present form until 1870. 

4 The Department of Agriculture was organized in 1862, but the Secretary did not be¬ 
come a cabinet officer until 1889. 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 


199 


during the greater part of the year, special meetings being 
called as occasion demands. The President also confers 
frequently with individual members. The cabinet is an 
advisory body only, and the President may act in opposi¬ 
tion to the wishes of any or all of his secretaries. 

The American cabinet is in marked contrast with the 
cabinet in Great Britain and many other European coun¬ 
tries. There the term cabinet denotes a parlia- American 
mentary ministry, that is, a group of men chosen peancab- 
from the majority party in the legislature, to inets 
which body they are accountable. The cabinet members 
have seats in the legislature, where they initiate legislation 
and defend the measures which they introduce. Responsi¬ 
bility for the administration rests upon them, and when 
they cease to have the support of a majority of the legisla¬ 
ture, they are expected to resign, in order that a new cab¬ 
inet may be formed. The American cabinet, on the other 
hand, is accountable not to the legislature but to the Presi¬ 
dent. Its members may not serve in Congress, and hence 
they do not introduce and defend measures in that body. 
An adverse vote of Congress could not remove them from 
office, since they are appointed by the President, and re¬ 
sponsible to him for their administration of affairs. 

272 . The Department of State. The Secretary of State 
ranks first among the members of the cabinet. His chief 
duty is to conduct the foreign affairs of the gov- Control of 
ernment under the direction of the President. He foreign 
issues instructions to our ministers and consuls, 8 
conducts treaty negotiations, receives and presents to the 
President the representatives of foreign powers, issues pass¬ 
ports to American citizens traveling abroad, and in general 
has charge of all matters relating to foreign affairs. 

The Secretary of State also has important domestic 
duties. He has the custody of the great seal of Domestic 
the United States; has charge of the publication dutles 
of federal statutes and executive proclamations; keeps the 


200 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Bureaus 


archives containing the originals of all laws, treaties, and 
foreign correspondence; and serves as the medium of com¬ 
munication between the President and the State governors. 

The Department of State includes seven bureaus — the 
diplomatic bureau, consular bureau, and the bureaus of 
indexes and archives, of accounts, of rolls and 
library, of appointments, and of citizenship. At 
the head of each bureau is a chief; and the Secretary of 
State is further aided in his work by three assistant secre¬ 
taries of state, who have immediate supervision of diplo¬ 
matic and consular correspondence. 

273. Department of the Treasury. The chief business 
of the Treasury Department is the supervision of the na- 
Duties of tional finances. The Secretary of the Treasury 
Secretary prepares plans for the improvement of the public 
revenue, and annually submits to Congress estimates of 
probable receipts and expenditures. He supervises the col¬ 
lection of customs and internal revenue; prescribes the 
forms for keeping public accounts; issues warrants for all 
money paid out of the treasury; selects the depositories of 
public moneys; makes loans by issuing bonds for the pro¬ 
tection of the gold reserve or for other purposes; and super¬ 
vises the many bureaus in the Treasury Department. Three 
assistant secretaries have immediate charge of certain bu¬ 
reaus, and perform such other duties as the Secretary may 
assign to them. 

The department organization includes the following of¬ 
ficers: the treasurer, the register, the comptroller of the cur- 
Depart rency, the director of the bureau of the budget, 
mental or- the commissioner of internal revenue, director of 
ganization ^ director of the bureau of engraving and 

printing, chief of the secret-service division, superintendent 
of the life-saving service, the supervising architect, and the 
surgeon-general. 

274. The Department of War. The Secretary of War has 
charge of all matters pertaining to national defense and sea- 


THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 


201 


coast fortifications, the administration of the insular pos¬ 
sessions, river and harbor improvements, and the Duties of 
prevention of obstructions to navigation. He Secretar 7 
prepares estimates of appropriations for the expenses of his 
department, supervises all expenditures for the support and 
transportation of the army, issues orders for the movements 
of troops, recommends appointments and promotions, and 
has charge of the Military Academy at West Point. 
i The administrative work of the War Department is car¬ 
ried on by numerous bureaus. At the head of each is an army 
officer detailed for a period of four years. These Administra- 
officers are as follows, the title indicating the func- tive bureaus 
tions of each: the adjutant-general, inspector-general, sur¬ 
geon-general, chief of ordnance, chief signal officer, chief of 
engineers, chief of the coast artillery division, chief of the 
militia bureau, chief of the quartermaster corps, judge-advo¬ 
cate-general, chief of the air service, chief of the chemical war¬ 
fare Service, and the chief of the bureau of insular affairs. 

In order to unify the work of the several bureaus, and to 
harmonize the relations between the staff officers (in charge 
of bureaus) and the line officers (in charge of The general 
troops), Congress in 1903 created the general stail 
staff, which is in effect a supervising military bureau. 
The chief of staff, an army officer designated by the Presi¬ 
dent for a term of four years, has general supervision 
over the administrative bureaus, as well as control of all 
troops of the line. In addition to the chief, the general 
staff consists of officers of various ranks who prepare plans 
for the national defense, investigate and report upon the 
efficiency of the army, advise the Secretary of War, and 
aid in coordinating the work of the several administrative 
bureaus. 

275 . The Department of Justice. The Attorney-General 
is the head of the Department of Justice, and the The Attor- 
chief law officer of the government. He represents ne y- General 
the government in all cases to which the United States is 


202 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


a party, and gives his advice and opinion concerning ques¬ 
tions of law to the President or to the heads of the executive 
departments. He exercises general supervision over the 
federal district attorneys and marshals, receiving their re¬ 
ports and examining their accounts; examines the title to 
lands which the government intends to purchase for public 
purposes; and makes an annual report to Congress concern¬ 
ing the business of his department. To the Department of 
Justice is also assigned supervision of the penal and reform¬ 
atory institutions of the United States, the investigation of 
applications for pardons, and supervision of the commission 
to codify the federal criminal laws. 

The second law officer of the Department is the solicitor- 
solicitor- general, who assists in the general duties of the 
general Department and acts as Attorney-General in case 
of vacancy in that office. 

276 . Post-Office Department. The Postmaster-General is 
charged with the general supervision of the postal service. 

He awards and executes contracts for the trans¬ 
portation of the mails, and directs the manage¬ 
ment of the domestic and foreign mail service. 
There are four assistant postmasters-general, each of whom 
has charge of a group of services within the department. 

The business of carrying letters is a government mo- 
Letter- nopoly, private competition being strictly pro¬ 
carrying a hibited. In the carrying of books or merchandise, 
competition is allowed, and the sender may choose 
between the express company and the postal service. 

In many European countries, the post office department 
through the parcel post carries on what amounts to an 
Parcel express business. Yielding to a general demand 
post for a similar service in this country, Congress in 

1912 authorized the establishment of a parcel post. Pack¬ 
ages weighing up to fifty pounds may now be sent through 
the post office. 

Nearly all the principal countries conduct a system of 


Duties of 
Postmas¬ 
ter-General 



THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
Washington, D. C. 



THE PATENT OFFICE 
Washington, D. C. 
































{By courtesy of the Monahan Express Company) 

THE POST OFFICE AT NEW YORK CITY 

The trucks in the foreground are used in the Parcel Post delivery service. A legend 
on the cornice of the building reads: “ Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of 
night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” 



{'Ey courtesy of the Treasury Department) 

THE POST OFFICE AT ATLANTA, GEORGIA 
One of the newest buildings. 






























203 


THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 

postal savings-banks in connection with the post office, 
and Congress in 1910 authorized such a system p C s*ai sav- 
for the United States. The telegraph system in ings-banks 
foreign countries is commonly controlled through this de¬ 
partment, but in the United States it has remained in pri¬ 
vate hands. 

277 * Department of the Navy. The Secretary of the 
^ av y> aided by an assistant secretary, superintends the 
construction, armament, and employment of war Dutles of 
vessels, and also exercises general supervision secretary 
over the naval service. This Department has charge of the 
Is aval TV ar College at Newport, and the Naval Academy at 
Annapolis. 

The administrative work of the Department is carried 
on by eight bureaus, the names of which indicate the work 
done. These are the bureaus of ordnance, navi- Bureaus 
gation, yards and docks, supplies and accounts, 
steam engineering, medicine and surgery, aeronautics, and 
construction and repairs. Most of these are in charge of 
line officers of the navy, with the rank of rear admiral; and 
other naval officers are assigned to bureau duties from time 
to time, this service alternating wdth service at sea. 

278. Department of the Interior. In the importance and 
diversity of its business, the Department of the Interior 
ranks as one of the greatest of the executive de- Diversity 
partments. The Secretary of the Interior (aided of 1111163 
by two assistant secretaries) is charged with the supervi¬ 
sion of the public lands and surveys, pensions, patents, In¬ 
dian affairs, education, and the geological survey. He also 
supervises the national parks and reservations, and the 
organized territories; distributes the appropriations for 
agricultural and mechanical colleges throughout the Union; 
and supervises certain hospitals and charitable institutions 
in the District of Columbia. 

The business of the Department is carried on by various 
bureaus: the general land office, bureau of patents, bureau 


204 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Bureaus 


of pensions, office of Indian affairs, bureau of education, geo¬ 
logical survey, reclamation service, and the bu¬ 
reau of mines. Each bureau is in charge of a 
principal officer called a commissioner, who is appointed by 
the President with the consent of the Senate. 

279 . The General Land Office. The commissioner of the 
general land office has charge of the survey, management, 
The public and sale of the public domain. Nearly two thirds 
domain G f the p resen t area of the United States has at one 
time or another formed a part of the public domain belonging 
to the national government. This immense territory has 
been acquired by cession, purchase, and conquest. The 
greater part has been disposed of in various ways, chiefly by 
sale at a nominal price to individual settlers, or as bounties 
for military or naval service, or as grants to corporations 
for the purpose of aiding the construction of railroads, or 
as grants to the States in aid of education and internal 
improvements. 

About 700,000,000 acres of public lands are still owned by 
the national government, more than one half of which is in 
Homestead Alaska, and most of the remainder in the States 
Act west of the 104th meridian. Under the Home¬ 

stead Act, any adult citizen of the United States who is 
the head of a family, and is not already the proprietor of 
1 G 0 acres of land, is entitled to enter a quarter section (160 
acres) of unappropriated public land. He may acquire title 
by maintaining his residence upon it, improving and culti¬ 
vating the land for a period of three years, and the pay¬ 
ment of nominal fees. 

Generally, before public land is opened for sale, it must be 
surveyed according to the rectangular system adopted in the 
Survey of Ordinance of 1785. Under this plan the lands are 
public lands divided by north and south lines along the true 
meridian, and by others running east and west so as to form 
townships as nearly as possible six miles square. Town¬ 
ships are divided into sections, one mile square or 640 acres, 


THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 


205 


as nearly as may be; and the sections in each township are 
numbered consecutively from one to thirty-six. Sections 
are further subdivided into half-sections of 320 acres, and 
quarter-sections of 160 acres. 

Within the last few years, several million acres of arid 
land have been reclaimed through irrigation projects con¬ 
structed by the national government. Lands irrigation 
thus made available for agriculture are open to proiects 
settlers upon payment, in small annual installments, of a 
sum which ultimately will cover the cost of the irrigation 
projects. 

280 . The Department of Agriculture. The Secretary of 
Agriculture has general supervision over all scientific in¬ 
vestigations relating to the agricultural industry. Work 0 f the 
He directs the investigations and experiments De P artment 
designed to give farmers useful information concerning soils, 
grains, fruits, and stock. Through his Department, mil¬ 
lions of packages of seeds are distributed gratuitously, and 
with them is sent information obtained by constant experi¬ 
ment. The Secretary has charge of quarantine stations for 
imported cattle, and the inspection of domestic meats and 
imported food products. The Department issues a large 
number of scientific and technical publications, including 
the Year-Book, the series of Farmers’ Bulletins, the Monthly 
Weather Review, and the Crop Reporter. 

The organization of the Department of Agriculture in¬ 
cludes the following bureaus and divisions, the titles of 
which indicate the nature of the work performed: Department 
the weather bureau, bureau of animal industry, organization 
bureau of plant industry, forest service, bureau of chemis¬ 
try, bureau of soils, bureau of statistics, bureau of ento¬ 
mology, bureau of biological survey, office of experiment 
stations, division of accounts and disbursements, division 
of publications, library, and office of public roads. 

The weather bureau renders especially important service 
in forecasting storms, thus preventing many losses to agri- 


206 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


culture and commerce. Meteorological observations are 
Weather taken at over two hundred stations, and the 
bureau information is forwarded to the central office at 
Washington, where weather predictions for the succeeding 
day or days are made. The predictions are given to the 
public through a system of flag signals, by the distribution 
of weather maps, and by publication in the daily papers. 

The forest service has charge of the national forest re¬ 
serves, now amounting to about 190,000,000 acres. By 
Forest creating these reserves, the federal government 
service has checked the threatened deforestation of our 
country; and the constant patrolling by forest-service 
rangers has prevented many disastrous fires, as well as thefts 
by lumber thieves. From time to time the forest service 
plants large areas with trees suitable to the climate and soil 
of the particular region. 

281. Department of Commerce. The Department of 
Commerce fosters, promotes, and develops the foreign and 
Functions oi domestic commerce, the mining, manufacturing, 
Department shipping, and fishing industries, and the trans¬ 
portation facilities of the United States. This Department 
has charge of the promotion of American manufactures, the 
census, statistics, lighthouses, coast survey, and steamboat 
inspection. 

The Department organization includes many important 
bureaus: the bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, 
bureau of lighthouses, bureau of the census, 
coast and geodetic survey, steamboat-inspection 
service, bureau of fisheries, bureau of navigation, and bu¬ 
reau of standards. 

282. Department of Labor. This is the youngest of the 
executive departments, having been created in 1913 . The 

department of labor performs for the labor inter¬ 
ests of the country services similar to those per¬ 
formed for agriculture and commerce by their respective 
departments. It collects and publishes information upon all 


Bureaus 


Services 


THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 


207 


subjects connected with labor, especially its relation to capi¬ 
tal, the hours and wages of labor, and the means of advanc¬ 
ing the interests of the laboring classes. The department 
serves the general public, as well as labor and capital, by 
endeavoring to preserve industrial peace, and to adjust 
labor disputes through conciliation. 

One of the most important bureaus in this department is 
the bureau of immigration which supervises the admin¬ 
istration of our immigration laws. The bureau 
of naturalization has charge of the administra¬ 
tion of our naturalization laws, in accordance with which 
aliens are admitted to citizenship. There is also a children’s 
bureau, which investigates matters pertaining to the welfare 
of children and child life, such as the employment of chil¬ 
dren in industry, especially in dangerous occupations; also 
such subjects as infant mortality, desertion, orphanage, 
and juvenile courts. 

283 . Independent Boards and Commissions. In addi¬ 
tion to these ten executive departments, the heads of which 
form the President’s cabinet, there are several independent 
boards and commissions which perform executive business 
not assigned to any of the departments. The most impor¬ 
tant of these are the Interstate Commerce Commission, 
Federal Trade Commission, the Civil Service Commission, 
the United States Tariff Commission, the Federal Reserve 
Board, Federal Farm Loan Board, Federal Board for Vo¬ 
cational Education, Board of Mediation and Conciliation, 
and the Railroad Labor Board. 

Besides the foregoing boards and commissions, several 
important national institutions are administered inde¬ 
pendently of the regular executive departments. These 
include the Smithsonian Institute, the Pan-American 
Union, the Government Printing Office, the Library of 
Congress, and others. 


208 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


GENERAL REFERENCES 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xi. 

Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth (1907), i, pp. 86-96. 

Congressional Directory, Summary of Departmental Duties. 

Fairlie, John A., The National Administration of the United States (1905), 
pp. 54-262. 

Finley, John H., The American Executive and Executive Methods (1908), 
ch. xvi. 

Reinsch, P. S., Readings on the American Federal Government (1909), ch. IX. 

Various Authors — History-Making, The Story of a Great Nation (1910). 

Woodburn, J. A., The American Republic (1908), pp. 189-194. 

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. What is the meaning of “department” as the term is used in the con¬ 
stitution? Why is our cabinet said to be extra-constitutional? 

12. Could Congress require the President to consult and follow the judg¬ 
ment of his cabinet? 

3. Could Congress by statute give seats in either house to cabinet officers? 
What would be the advantages of this plan? 

4. Name the members of our present cabinet. Which States are repre¬ 
sented? 

5. What is the purpose of the International Bureau of American Repub¬ 
lics? (Barrett, John, in History-Making, pp. 50-52.) 

6. Consult the Congressional Directory and other sources, and prepare a 
short report upon the duties of the State Department. 

7. Prepare a similar report upon the work of each of the other executive 
departments. 

8. Cite facts which tend to prove that our post office is the largest busi¬ 
ness enterprise in the world. 

9. Give arguments for and against government ownership of railways and 
telegraph lines. 

10. Report upon the work of the general land office. (Congressional 
Directory; also Dennett, Fred, in History-Making, pp. 40-43.) 

11. Describe the work of the reclamation service. (Newell, E. H., in His¬ 
tory-Making, pp. 188-190.) 

12. In what ways does the federal government promote agriculture? 

13. Prepare a report upon the scientific work of the federal government. 
{History-Making, pp. 29, 83, 98,149,183,188; Reinsch, P. S., Readings , 
pp. 419-432.) 

14. Discuss the work of the Civil Service Commission. (Kaye, P. L., 
Readings in Civil Government, pp. 232-242; Reinsch, P. S., Readings , 
pp. 683-702.) 

15. Describe the work of the census bureau. 

16. What department has charge of the erection of federal buildings? Of 
river and harbor improvements? Of the granting of patents? Of im¬ 
migration? Of the collection of customs? Of the infringement of the 
rights of our citizens abroad? 

17. Readings on the executive departments: Kaye, P. L., Readings, pp. 
211-225; Reinsch, P. S., Readings , pp. 362^60; Beard, C. A., Read¬ 
ings, ch. ix. 


CHAPTER XXI 

THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 


284 . The National Courts. The constitution vests the 
judicial power of the United States in one Supreme Court, 
and in such inferior courts as Congress may see judiciary 
fit to establish. In accordance with this provision, Act °* 1789 
Congress in 1789 passed the Judiciary Act drafted by 
Oliver Ellsworth, which with modifications still forms the 
basis of our judicial system. This act organized the Su¬ 
preme Court, and also created circuit and district courts; 
it apportioned the federal jurisdiction among the three 
grades of courts; created the office of Attorney-General, 
and provided for a marshal in each judicial district. 

In 1891 Congress created nine “circuit courts of appeals” 
in order to relieve the Supreme Court of part of its former 
appellate jurisdiction. By an act which became Three grades 
effective January 1 , 1912, Congress abolished the ofcourts 
circuit court, vesting its former powers and duties in the 
district court. Hence there are now three grades of federal 
courts — the Supreme Court, the circuit court of appeals, 
and the district court. 

285 . Federal Judges. In 1911 the number of federal 
judges was as follows: Supreme Court justices, nine; cir¬ 
cuit judges, twenty-nine; district judges, ninety- Numljer 
one. All United States judges are appointed by appoint - 
the President, subject to confirmation by the men ’ erm 
Senate; and their term of office is for life, or during good 
behavior. Federal judges are thus made independent both 
of the appointing power and of the popular will, since they 
can be removed from office only by conviction on impeach¬ 
ment charges. 


210 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Judges receive a compensation which may be increased 
but cannot be diminished during their continuance in office. 
Compensa- The justices of the Supreme Court are paid 
Uon $14,500 a year (the chief justice receiving an 

additional $500); circuit judges, $8500; and district judges, 
$7500. Any judge who has held his commission at least 
ten years may resign on attaining the age of seventy years, 
and continue to draw full salary during the remainder of 
his life. 

286 . Jurisdiction of the Federal Courts. The federal 
courts authorized by the constitution are courts of limited, 
Limited not of general, jurisdiction; that is, they have 
jurisdiction authority to try only such cases as are specifically 
placed within their jurisdiction by the provisions of the 
federal constitution and the laws enacted by Congress. 
The nine classes of cases enumerated in the constitution 
may be grouped under two general heads: ( 1 ) cases in which 
the federal jurisdiction depends upon the character of the 
suit; ( 2 ) cases in which the federal jurisdiction depends 
upon the character of the parties. 

287 . Jurisdiction depending upon Character of Suit. 
The class of cases in which jurisdiction depends upon the 
Enumera- character of the suit includes: (a) cases in law 
tion oi cases or equity arising under the constitution or laws 
of the United States, or treaties made under their authority, 
(b) Cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction, (c) Con¬ 
troversies between citizens of the same State claiming lands 
under grants of different States. 

The most important cases within this group are those 
arising under the federal constitution, laws, or treaties; for 
Cases under it is by virtue of this authority that the national 
federal law cour t s are enabled to maintain and enforce the 
provisions of the federal constitution, as well as the law T s and 
treaties made under its authority. In order to come within 
the federal jurisdiction, it must appear that some right, title, 
privilege, or immunity claimed by one of the parties in- 


THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 


211 


volves a construction of the federal constitution, laws, or 
treaties. Thus, if one of the parties claims that a State law 
affecting his rights is a law which impairs the obligation of 
contracts, the case is within federal jurisdiction, since it 
involves the construction of the federal constitution. 1 Or 
if one holding a patent from the federal government desires 
to bring suit for infringement, this would be a case arising 
under the laws of the United States, since patents are 
granted only by federal law. 

288. Jurisdiction depending upon Character of Parties. 
The second group of Oases, wherein federal jurisdiction 
depends upon the character of the parties, in- Enumera- 
cludes: (a) cases affecting ambassadors, other 1101101 cases 
public ministers, and consuls, (b) Controversies to which 
the United States is a party. 2 (c) Controversies between 
two or more States, (d) Controversies between a State 
and citizens of another State, (e) Controversies between 
citizens of different States, (f) Controversies between a 
State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign States, citizens, 
or subjects. It is apparent that this group of cases includes 
those controversies whose determination by a federal tri¬ 
bunal is necessary to secure harmonious foreign and inter¬ 
state relations, or to secure an impartial decision concerning 
the rights of citizens of the several States. 

289. The Federal Judicial System. As already stated, 
the judicial power of the United States is vested in a sys¬ 
tem of courts of three grades: the district courts, Three grades 
circuit courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court. of courts 
The Supreme Court is expressly provided for by the con¬ 
stitution, and is therefore largely independent of Congress. 
The courts of the other two grades are statutory courts; 
that is, they are created by Congress, which body may alter 
their jurisdiction or abolish them entirely, at its discretion. 

1 Article i. Section 10, of the constitution provides that no State shall pass any law fmpair- 
ing the obligation of contracts. 

2 This includes all federal criminal suits; also suits by the United States against individ¬ 
uals for debt, for the non-fulfillment of contracts, or for wrongful possession of property. 


212 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Jurisdiction 


290. Federal District Courts. The federal courts of low¬ 
est grade are the district courts, one of which exists in each 
Lowest led- of the ninety-two districts into which the United 
erai court States is divided. No district includes more than 
one State, but many States are divided into two or more 
districts. Each district ordinarily has its own district judge, 
who holds court at one or more places within the district. 

The district court is a court of general original jurisdic¬ 
tion, 1 both civil and criminal; that is, it is the court in which 
all cases coming under federal jurisdiction are 
begun and first tried (except those cases in which 
the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction). The district 
court has jurisdiction of: (1) all crimes and offenses cogniz¬ 
able under the authority of the United States; ( 2 ) all civil 
cases brought by the United States or one of its officers; 
(3) cases between citizens of the same State claiming lands 
under grants from different States; (4) cases arising under 
the federal constitution, laws, or treaties, provided the 
amount in controversy exceeds $3000; 2 (5) controversies 
between citizens of different States, or between citizens of a 
State and foreign states, citizens, or subjects, provided the 
amount involved exceeds $3000; (6) admiralty and mari¬ 
time cases; (7) suits arising under the patent, copyright, 
and trade-mark laws; (8) cases arising under the internal 
revenue, customs, 3 and postal laws; (9) suits arising under 
the laws regulating commerce; (10) suits against consuls 
and vice-consuls; (11) proceedings in bankruptcy; ( 12 ) suits 
under the immigration and contract labor laws; (13) suits 
and proceedings arising under the law to protect trade and 
commerce against restraints and monopolies; (14) suits to 
enforce the rights of citizens of the United States to vote 
in the several States; (15) suits brought by any person to 


1 Original jurisdiction is the power to hear or decide a legal controversy, or to administer a 
remedy, in the first instance. Appellate jurisdiction is the power to review the decision of 
some other court. 

2 If the amount is less than $3000 the action must be brought in the State courts. 

• Except where jurisdiction has been conferred upon the Court of Customs Appeals. 


THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 


213 


Removal 


redress the deprivation of any right, privilege, or immunity 
secured by the federal constitution or laws. 

Generally speaking, cases which have been brought in 
the State courts and could have been brought 
originally in the federal district court may be re¬ 
moved by the defendant under certain restrictions from the 
State court to the federal district court. 

291 . Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals. In order to re¬ 
lieve the work of the Supreme Court, the court known as 
the circuit court of appeals was established in Estabiish- 
1891 in each of the nine circuits. This court con- ment 
sists of three judges (two of whom constitute a quorum) 
selected from the following list: the Supreme Court justice 
assigned to the particular circuit, the circuit judges, and 
the district judges of the circuit. 

The circuit court of appeals has appellate jurisdiction to 
review the decisions of the district courts, except in cases 
in which appeals and writs of error may be taken 
direct to the Supreme Court. The judgments and 
decrees of the circuit court of appeals are generally final in 
cases where the jurisdiction results from the fact that the 
suit is one between a citizen and an alien, or between 
citizens of different States. This court also has final juris¬ 
diction in cases arising under the patent and copyright laws, 
the revenue laws, the criminal laws, and in admiralty cases. 

292 . The Federal Supreme Court. The Supreme Court 
consists of one chief justice and eight associate justices, 
six of whom constitute a quorum. This court sits Organizatlon 
at the national capital, its sessions being held andpro- 
annually, commencing on the second Monday in cedure 
October. After a case has been tried before the court, the 
opinion of a majority of the judges is ascertained, and the 
chief justice then assigns to one of his associates the task of 
writing the decision. This is then read before the others, 
and if accepted by a majority it becomes the decision of 
the court. 


Jurisdiction 


214 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is of two kinds, 
original and appellate. Its original jurisdiction, being pre- 
Originai scribed by constitutional provision, cannot be 
jurisdiction abridged or extended by statute. The Supreme 
Court has original jurisdiction (1) in all cases affecting 
ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls; (2) in 
cases in which a State is a party. The original jurisdiction 
of the Supreme Court has been resorted to principally to 
settle controversies between the States. 

The appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is 
subject to the control of Congress, and may be enlarged 
Appellate or restricted by that body. The Supreme Court 
jurisdiction now bears appeals from the inferior federal courts 
as follows: (1) Cases from the district court in which the 
jurisdiction of the court is in question; final decrees in prize 
cases; cases involving the construction or application of the 
constitution of the United States, or of a federal law or 
treaty; cases in which the constitution or law of a State 
is claimed to be in contravention of the constitution of 
the United States. (2) Certain cases may be certified to 
the Supreme Court by the circuit court of appeals, or may 
be removed from that court by direction of the Supreme 
Court. (3) In certain cases the Supreme Court passes 
upon appeals from the supreme courts of the territories, 
the supreme court of the District of Columbia, and from 
the Court of Claims. 

(4) Finally, the Supreme Court has power to hear appeals 
from State courts of last resort in cases involving a federal 
question, where the decision of the State court is 
against the validity of a federal statute or treaty 
or authority exercised under the United States; 
or where the decision of the State court is against the title, 
right, privilege, or immunity claimed by either party under 
the constitution, laws, treaties, or authority of the United 
States; or where the decision of the State court is in favor 
of a State statute or constitutional provision which is 


Appeals 
from State 
courts 


THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 


215 


claimed to be repugnant to the federal constitution, laws, 
or treaties. 

293. Special United States Courts. The three courts de¬ 
scribed above constitute the national judicial system, and 
exercise the judicial powers prescribed in the court of 
federal constitution. But in the exercise of its Clalms 
own authority, Congress has created several special tri¬ 
bunals. One of these is the Court of Claims (created in 
1855), composed of five justices who sit at Washington. 
This court has authority to try claims against the United 
States, and if its judgment is in favor of the claimant, the 
sum may be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury from an 
appropriation made by Congress for this purpose. 1 

By the act of 1911, Congress created the Court of Cus¬ 
toms Appeals. This court consists of five judges who have 
power to review the decisions of the Board of Courto j 
General Appraisers concerning the classification Customs 
of imports and the rates of duty thereon. Appeals 

In the exercise of its general power to legislate for the 
territories and the District of Columbia, Congress has pro¬ 
vided a system of territorial courts. Under Territorial, 
authority derived by treaty with certain nations ^dmiutary 
as Turkey and China, Congress has given juris- tribunals 
diction to United States consuls in those countries to try 
civil and criminal cases to which citizens of the United 
States are parties. Finally, under the power to “make 
rules for the government and regulation of the land and 
naval forces,” Congress has provided courts-martial for the 
punishment of military and naval offenses. 

294. Exercise of Federal Judicial Power. The federal 

courts possess all the powers belonging to courts of record, 

and necessary to the exercise of their jurisdiction Powers of 

and the satisfaction of their judgments. They ap- federal 

• • courts 

point their inferior officers, admit and disbar at¬ 
torneys, punish for contempts, make rules of practice, and 

1 The award of the court is in the nature of a recommendation only, and if Congress 
makes no appropriation the claimant is without remedy. 


216 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


issue all customary writs, the most important of which 
are writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, and injunction. l 

In each judicial district there is a United States marshal, 
charged with the duty of enforcing the decrees and orders 
Federal of the court. Like the sheriff, he may if resisted 
marshal and ca q a p 0Sse G f citizens to his aid; or if this is not 

attorneys adequate, he may appeal to the President lor 
federal troops. There is also in each district a federal public 
prosecutor, the United States district attorney, who in¬ 
stitutes proceedings against persons who violate federal 
law. Marshals and district attorneys are under the direc¬ 
tion of the United States Attorney-General, as head of the 
Department of Justice. 

In exercising their jurisdiction, the courts have con¬ 
sistently adhered to the rule that they will not interfere 
Political in purely political questions, decision concerning 
questions which belongs to the executive or legislative de¬ 
partments. Such, for example, are questions of the exist¬ 
ence of war or peace, the rightful government of a foreign 
state, the admission of a new State to the Union, the 
restoration to constitutional relations of a State lately 
in rebellion, or the right of Indians to recognition as a 
tribe. 

Similarly, the courts have uniformly refused to decide 
abstract questions of constitutionality, or to give 
opinions upon questions not presented in the 
form of a concrete case between parties to a suit. 

295 . The Law administered in the Federal Courts. In 
the exercise of their jurisdiction, the federal courts may find 
Grades it necessary to interpret and administer the fed- 
of law eral i aWj as expressed in the federal constitution, 
statutes, or treaties; or State law, as expressed in the State 


Concrete 
case neces 
sary 


1 The writ of habeas corpus is frequently invoked before federal courts in order to test the 
legality of an arrest under State authority. The writ of mandamus may be directed against 
individuals or corporations to compel them to perform their duties. The writ of injunction 
takes many forms, and is either a temporary or permanent restraining order forbidding per¬ 
sons to perform acts which would create consequences that could not be remedied by later 
suits. 


THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 


217 


constitution or statutes, or as embodied in the common law 
of the State. These laws are of different degrees of author¬ 
ity, the supreme law being the federal constitution, the 
provisions of which prevail over any other enactments, since 
whatever is not in accordance with the federal constitution 
is not law at all. A federal statute or treaty, if in conform¬ 
ity with the federal constitution, prevails as against any 
State constitution or statute. The State constitution is 
of higher authority than the State statute, while the State 
statutes prevail as against any principles of the common law 
which they contravene . 1 

296 . Declaring Legislative Acts Void. Federal courts, 
like those of the States, exercise a twofold function. In 
common with the courts of all countries, they have unique 
the power of determining the meaning of a legis- 
lative enactment involved in any case before the courts 
court, and applying the law, when its meaning has been 
ascertained, to the particular case. But American courts 
have a second function which foreign judiciaries do not 
possess; for they have the power to decide whether the 
legislative enactment involved in the case before the court 
is one which the legislature is warranted under the consti¬ 
tution in passing — in short, whether the particular enact¬ 
ment is law at all. 

The federal constitution, we have seen, is the supreme 
law of the land, and Congress has only such legislative 
power as the constitution confers. It is the func- Final inter- 
tion of the judiciary to decide whether legisla- Sfconstt- 
tive or executive acts involved in cases before the tution 
court are in excess of the authority granted; for if so, they 
are null and void. This power likewise extends to acts of 
the State legislatures and provisions of the State constitu¬ 
tions, which, to be valid, must not conflict with any pro¬ 
vision of federal law. 


1 See diagram, p. 66. 


218 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


GENERAL REFERENCES 

Baldwin, S. E., The American Judiciary (1905). 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xv. 

Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth (1907), i, chs. xxii-xxiv. 

Hart, A. B., Actual Government (1903), ch. xvn. 

Landon, J. S., The Constitutional History and Government of the United 

States (1905), chs. xm-xiv. 

McClain, E., Constitutional Law in the United States (1905), chs. xxiv- 

XXIX. 

Munro, William B., The Government of the United States (1920), pp. 342-371. 

Willoughby, W. W., The Supreme Court of the United States (1890). 

Wilson, Woodrow, Constitutional Government in the United States (1908), 

ch. vi. 

Woodburn, J. A., The American Republic and Its Government (1908), ch. vi. 

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. What territory is included in your federal judicial district? Where is 
the court held? Name the district judge, the district attorney, and the 
marshal. For what term and by whom is each appointed? 

2. Name the men who have held the position of chief justice. Which ones 
are most famous? 

3. Prepare a report upon the influence of John Marshall as chief justice. 

4. Compare the method of appointment and term of federal judges with 
that of the judges of your State supreme court. 

5. Describe the process by which the United States Supreme Court ren¬ 
ders a decision. By whom is the decision written, by whom reported, 
and where published? (Reinsch, P. S., Readings, pp. 716-717.) 

6. May the President require the opinion of the Supreme Court upon a 
legislative measure? Whom should he consult? 

7. How is the jurisdiction of the federal courts determined? 

8. State the conditions under which a case may be appealed from the 
supreme court of your State to the United States Supreme Court. 

9. Prepare a report showing how the federal courts protect the rights: 
(a) of the nation; (b) of the States; (c) of citizens. 

10. Describe the power, process, and effect of declaring legislative acts 
unconstitutional. (Marbury v. Madison; Thayer’s Cases, i, 107; Mc¬ 
Clain, E., Constitutional Law in the United States, pp. 19-25.) 

11. Assuming that there is a conflict between the following laws, state 
which one prevails: (a) a city ordinance and a State statute; (b) a 
city charter and a State constitution; (c) a State constitution and a 
law of Congress; (d) a State statute and a law of Congress; (e) a State 
constitution and the federal constitution; (f) a law of Congress and a 
treaty; (g) a law of Congress and the federal constitution (Section 150). 

12. Readings on the federal judiciary: Kaye, P. L., Readings, pp. 243- 
249; Reinsch, P. S., Readings, pp. 703-715; Beard, C. A., Readings, 
ch. xv. 


CHAPTER XXII 


EXPENDITURE AND REVENUE 


297. Growth of Federal Expenditures. The total expen¬ 
ditures of the national government for the year ending 
June 30, 1919, exceeded four billion dollars, the objects of 
expenditure being shown in the table below. In 1860, the 
total federal expenditures amounted to $63,200,000, or two 
dollars per capita , while in 1919 our annual expenditures 
were one hundred and forty-six dollars per capita. Thus 
the total volume of expenditure is now two hundred and 
forty times as large as it was fifty years ago, while the 
per capita expenditure is more than seventy times as large. 
It must be kept in mind that governments to-day perform 
many more services than formerly, and expenditures have 
grown larger as government activities have increased. 
Moreover, while the per capita expenditure has increased, 
wealth has also greatly increased, especially in the United 
States; and hence the increased expenditure does not neces¬ 
sarily mean a greater burden to the individual taxpayer. 


FEDERAL RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES, YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1919 

(In millions of dollars) 

Ordinary receipts Ordinary disbursements 


Customs. 183 

Internal revenue: — 

Income and profits tax... 2,601 

Miscellaneous. 1,239 

Miscellaneous revenue. 625 

Net postal revenue. 2 

Total. 4,650 


Civil and miscellaneous.... 3,26i 

War. 9,220 

Navy. 2,009 

Indians. 35 

Pension. 222 

Interest on public debt.... 616 

Total.15,366 


298 . Expenditures resulting from the World War. When 
the United States entered the World War in defense of our 
national rights, the volume of federal expenditures increased 
enormously. The total appropriations of the Sixty-fifth 














220 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Congress at its first session were nearly seventeen billion 
dollars, while previous appropriations and contracts au¬ 
thorized made a grand total for the fiscal year 1918 of 
over twenty-one billion dollars. This amount included 
seven billions for loans to our allies; so that exclusive of 
these loans, the total appropriations for this year exceeded 
fourteen billion dollars. 

299 . Control of Federal Expenditures. Control of federal 
expenditures is vested in Congress under the constitutional 
provision that no money shall be drawn from the treasury 
except in consequence of an appropriation made by law. 1 
The power of Congress over appropriations is subject to the 
executive veto, but the President cannot veto particular 
items of an appropriation bill. Most of the expenditures of 
the federal government are provided for in annual appro¬ 
priation bills passed by Congress. In some cases, as for 
rivers and harbors and for public works, it is necessary to 
make permanent appropriations; that is, appropriations 
voted for a certain purpose without limitation as to time. 

The constitution requires that “a regular statement 
and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public 

Preparation mone y s shall be made from time to time.” 2 In 
of the accordance with this provision, the Secretary of 
the Treasury lays before Congress at the begin¬ 
ning of each regular session a report known as the “Book of 
Estimates,” giving: (1) a condensed statement of receipts 
and expenditures for the last fiscal year; (2) an estimate of 
the revenues and expenditures for the fiscal year about to be 
entered upon; (3) an outline of the fiscal policy desired by 
the administration. The Secretary’s report is submitted 
to the Speaker of the House, who refers it to the appropriate 
committees. 

Real control of financial policy is thus vested in the con- 
Financiai gressional committees; for while they may take 
committees the re port of the Secretary of the Treasury as a 

* Constitution, Art. i, Sec. 9, Par. 7. 2 Constitution, Art. 1 , Sec. 9, Par. 7. 


EXPENDITURE AND REVENUE 


221 


basis for legislation, they are under no legal obligation to 
do so, and the recommendations of that official are often 
materially modified or even entirely rejected. The most 
important of the House committees is that on ways and 
means, which has almost exclusive control of plans for rais¬ 
ing revenue. Only second in importance to the ways and 
means committee is the committee on appropriations. For¬ 
merly this committee reported all appropriation bills, but 
at present it reports only six bills, namely, the sundry civil 
bill; the legislative, executive, and judicial bill; the District 
of Columbia, pension, fortifications, and deficiency bills. 
Each of the other appropriation bills is assigned to a stand¬ 
ing committee, so that the fourteen appropriation bills are 
reported by eight different committees. 

Bills thus prepared are submitted to the House, and if 
passed by that body go to the Senate, where bills for raising 
revenue are referred to the finance committee, and p r0C ess of 
appropriation bills to the committee on appro- le g islation 
priations. Both revenue and appropriation bills are freely 
amended by the Senate; and conference committees are 
often necessary to adjust the differences between the two 
bodies. After passing Congress, financial measures, like 
all other bills, must be submitted to the President for his 
approval or veto. 

300. Criticisms of Federal System of Finance. Our sys¬ 
tem of public finance has been severely criticized by Bryce 
and other authorities, for the following reasons: — 

(1) Responsibility for preparing the budget ought to be 
direct, personal, and complete; but under our practice, this 
responsibility is dispersed among independent R nsl _ 
committees of coordinate authority. The four- wiitydif- 
teen annual appropriation bills enacted by Con¬ 
gress are prepared by eight different House committees, 
each of which is independent of the rest, and all of which 
may ignore entirely the ways and means committee, whose 
business it is to raise the revenue, as well as the Secre- 


222 GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


revenues 
not cor¬ 
related 


tary of the Treasury, whose duty it is to suggest a fiscal 
plan. 

( 2 ) There is no direct relation between the amount pro¬ 
posed to be raised and the amount proposed to be spent 
Tjxpen&i- i n an y one year. In most foreign countries, as in 
tures and the case of our own States and cities, the neces¬ 
sary expenditures are calculated beforehand as 
closely as possible, and taxes are then levied to 

supply the necessary funds. Federal finance reverses this 
process; it first provides revenue without any special refer¬ 
ence to the needs of the country, and then considers ways 
of expending the money raised. 

(3) The executive branch of the government has insuffi¬ 
cient authority in financial affairs. The Secretary of the 

Treasury, unlike the British Chancellor of the 
Exchequer, does not submit his financial projects 
in the form of bills which he defends on the floor 
of the House; he may only recommend measures for the 
consideration of committees. Moreover, since the Presi¬ 
dent cannot veto particular items in appropriation bills, 
his authority over fiscal legislation is limited. 

301 . Proposals for a National Budget System. War ex¬ 
penditures running into the billions of dollars, coupled with 

Administra- cer h a inty that direct taxation must continue 
tion budget to be the main source of federal revenue after the 
war, led Congress to consider seriously the adop¬ 
tion of a budget system of appropriations. A bill was 
introduced outlining the following principles: — 

( 1 ) That the President should be made responsible for 
expenditures recommended by his department heads, and 
that he should collect these recommendations and pass on 
them as a total sum. 


Lack ol 

executive 

control 


( 2 ) That requests for appropriations should be submitted 
to Congress in minute detail, and in the form of one ad¬ 
ministration budget. 

(3) That this budget should be considered by a single 


EXPENDITURE AND REVENUE 


223 


committee in each house of Congress, instead of being in¬ 
troduced in a multitude of departmental bills to be con¬ 
sidered by many different committees, as at present. 

(4) That Congress should create as an adjunct to its 
appropriations committee an auditing department that 
would comb the administration budget for extravagances. 

The budget system was finally established by an act of 
Congress passed in 1921. This law creates the bureau of the 
budget as an adjunct of the Treasury Depart- Establish¬ 
ment. This bureau prepares for the President the SiTget* ^ 
annual budget, together with such estimates as system 
he may from time to time recommend to Congress. The 
head of each executive department appoints a budget officer 
charged with the duty of preparing the departmental esti¬ 
mate of appropriations. On or before September 15 of each 
year, the head of each department revises these estimates 
and submits them to the bureau of the budget, which has 
authority to correlate, revise, reduce, or increase the esti¬ 
mates. When directed by the President, the budget bureau 
is authorized to make detailed studies of the several execu¬ 
tive departments and establishments, so as to enable the 
President to know what changes are advisable in the 
interest of economy and efficiency. Each executive depart¬ 
ment must furnish the bureau with such information as it 
may require, and the officials of the bureau have authority 
to examine the books and records of any department. 

302 . Sources of Federal Revenue. The ordinary reve¬ 
nues of the federal government are derived mainly from two 
sources, customs duties and internal revenue customs 
taxes. For example, in 1917 customs duties sup- Eternal 
plied about twenty per cent of our national in- revenue 
come, while internal revenue yielded over seventy per cent 
of the total. The internal revenue of that year was derived 
from three taxes: ordinary internal revenue, commonly 
called excise taxes; the corporation income tax; and the in¬ 
dividual income tax. 


m 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


303 . Import Duties as a Source of Revenue. Prior to 

the Civil War, the federal government derived nearly all 
of its income from import duties; while in 1917 
only twenty per cent of the net revenue was de¬ 
rived from this source. Import duties may be defined as 
taxes imposed upon articles brought into the United States 
from foreign countries. Since the States are forbidden to 
levy imposts, this form of tax is reserved exclusively to the 
federal government. 

Import duties are of two kinds, specific and ad valorem. 
Specific duties are those which are laid according to weight 
_ or number, without reference to the value of the 

ad valorem article; while ad valorem duties are those levied 
in proportion to value. On some articles both 
forms of duty are levied. 

The administration of customs duties is in charge of the 
Secretary of the Treasury, one of the assistant secretaries 
having immediate charge of the customs depart¬ 
ment. The entire country is divided into about 
fifty districts for the collection of customs. In each district 
there is a collector, who is aided by a surveyor, appraiser, 
and a staff of clerks, examiners, inspectors, and store¬ 
keepers. 

304 . General Characteristics of Excise Taxes. Excises 
may be defined as taxes levied upon the consumption, 
manufacture, or sale of commodities within a country. 
Like customs duties, excises are commonly borne by the 
consumers, who have to pay higher prices for the articles 
taxed. While somewhat inelastic and uncertain in char¬ 
acter, they form a more stable and readily adjusted source 
of income than customs duties. Like the latter, they are 
based upon no rule of apportionment or equality, but are 
fixed charges laid on commodities without regard to the 
amount of property belonging to those who pay them. 

To raise the immense revenues necessary for national 
defense in the World War, Congress resorted to taxation 


Collection 


EXPENDITURE AND REVENUE 


225 


on a large scale, besides borrowing immense sums through 
the sale of bonds and other securities. The tax War taxeg 
law passed on October 3, 1917, was planned to of 1917 
produce $2,500,000,000 of revenue during the ensuing 
year. The most important items in point of size were the 
tax on excess business profits, the tax on incomes, and the 
taxes on liquors and tobacco. There were also taxes on 
theater tickets and club dues, on promissory notes, deeds, 
and mortgages, on freight and express shipments, on tele¬ 
grams, motion pictures, automobiles and tires, together 
with an increase in postage rates. 

The administration of excise taxes is supervised by the 
commissioner of internal revenue, who is one of the bureau 
chiefs of the Treasury Department. The entire Revenus 
country is divided into a large number of districts, distrlcts 
in each of which is a collector responsible for the enforce¬ 
ment of the revenue laws in his district. Special officers are 
employed to detect attempted evasions of the law. 

Excise taxes are collected in two ways: (1) By requir¬ 
ing the producer or seller of such commodities as cigars 
or oleomargarine to pay a license fee for the right collection 
to carry on his occupation, whereupon a certificate of excises 
is issued, which must be exposed in his place of business. 
(2) In addition to the license fee, each unit of the article 
is taxed by means of revenue stamps which must be pasted 
upon packages in such a way as to be necessarily broken 
when the package is opened. 

305 . Characteristics of Income Taxes. Income taxes 
are those levied in proportion to the income of the tax¬ 
payer. Theoretically, this is one of the most Tlw f<iif t<nti 
just forms of tax, since it conforms more nearly 
to the ideal that taxes should be proportioned to the ability 
of the taxpayer; and income is conceded to be the best 
single indication of taxpaying ability. Moreover, the in¬ 
come tax cannot be easily shifted, but is generally borne 
by the persons on whom it is assessed. It is also an elastic 


226 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


form of tax, and can be readily adapted to revenue needs. 
It has proven very successful in other countries; but under 
our form of government it is not practicable for the States, 
since if one commonwealth levies an income tax, its wealthy 
citizens may escape it by acquiring a legal residence in a 
neighboring State. Hence incomes can be successfully taxed 
only under federal law; and the sixteenth constitutional 
amendment (ratified in 1913) expressly authorizes Congress 
to tax incomes. 

Congress has since passed three income tax laws. The 
present law levies an annual tax of not less than two 
per cent upon the net income of married persons in excess 
of $ 2000 ; while for single persons the amount exempt is 
only $ 1000 . The rate of the tax increases with the size 
of the income, up to fifty per cent on incomes above 
$ 1 , 000 , 000 . 

306. Direct Taxes levied by the Federal Government. 

On five occasions Congress has exercised its constitutional 
power to levy direct taxes proportioned among the States 
according to population. The first tax of this kind was 
levied in 1798, three others during the War of 1812, and one 
in 1861. The first four of these were laid upon real estate 
and slaves, the act of 1861 upon real estate alone. Except 
in the greatest emergency, it is unlikely that Congress will 
again levy direct taxes, since under the rule of apportion¬ 
ment the burden of such taxation weighs most heavily 
upon the poorer States. 

307 . Anticipatory or Extraordinary Revenues. In ad¬ 
dition to the revenue secured from the sources already 
Borrowing described, the federal government may obtain 
power funds through the use of its credit. The constitu¬ 
tion vests in Congress power “to borrow money on the 
credit of the United States,” thus conferring the borrow¬ 
ing power in the broadest possible terms, so that it may be 
commensurate with the needs of government. 

Governments generally borrow money by issuing bonds, 


EXPENDITURE AND REVENUE 


227 


bills of credit (such as treasury notes), or other evidences 
of indebtedness. But Congress is not limited to Methods oi 
methods of borrowing which are so clearly and borrovcin e 
directly adapted to the end in view; it may adopt any 
means it deems conducive to the efficient execution of the 
power, provided only that they are appropriate to the end, 
and legitimate, that is, within the scope of the constitution. 
Thus Congress may charter a federal bank, this having 
been held by the Supreme Court to be a necessary and 
proper means of carrying on the fiscal operations of govern¬ 
ment. Moreover, as an incident of the power to borrow 
money and provide a currency, Congress may establish a 
system of national and federal reserve banks, such as exists 
to-day. Not only may Congress issue bills of credit, such 
as treasury notes, but as an incident of the borrowing power, 
Congress may make such notes a legal tender for all public 
and private debts. 

308. Bond Issues. In negotiating public loans, govern¬ 
ments usually proceed by one of two methods. The first 
is to prepare the bonds or other evidences of Subscrlp . 
indebtedness, fixing all the conditions (such as ti °“ —first 
the amount, time, and rate of interest), and then 
offer the securities to all buyers at the same price. This 
method of selling bonds by popular subscription was relied 
on by the national government in raising our great Liberty 
Loans, and proved very successful. 

The second and more common method of marketing 
bonds is for the government to advertise that bids for a 
certain amount of bonds are desired. Bankers competitive 
and capitalists then compete for the privilege of wds 
taking the bond issue in whole or in part. The bidders offer 
to provide the money at a certain rate of interest, or if the 
rate of interest and the amount of the bonds have been 
determined, offer to buy them at a certain rate, quoted 
as so much per hundred. The most favorable terms offered 
are then accepted, and upon delivering the money to the 


228 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


government, the purchasers receive the bonds. In former 
times, our national government has often sold its bonds in 
this way, and this is still the usual method of selling State, 
city, and county bonds. 

Fiscal considerations will determine the time for which 
the bonds shall run, the amount, and the rate of interest. 
Maturity ^ tended for popular subscription, the bonds 
and interest must be in small amounts; otherwise the units 
may be larger. If the rate of interest offered is 
too low, the bonds will not sell except below par. Both 
principal and interest of bonds are payable in gold. During 
the great World War of 1917, our government wisely de¬ 
cided to sell its bonds directly to the people, through popu¬ 
lar subscription; and in order that they might be within 
reach of all, bonds were offered in denominations as small 
as fifty dollars. Three great Liberty Loans, aggregating 
nearly twelve billion dollars, were made during the first 
year of the war, at interest rates ranging from 3j to 4j per 
cent. 

309 . Short-time Loans. Bonds are generally issued for 
loans intended to extend over a considerable number of 
years; but for short-term loans some variety of 
treasury notes is generally issued. Thus during 
the Civil War, the government secured short-term and 
temporary loans (amounting in all to $1,098,000,000) 
through the issue of a variety of interest-bearing notes. 
In addition to these notes, what was in reality a forced 
loan was secured through the issue of $431,000,000 of non- 
interest-bearing, legal-tender notes, not redeemable in 
specie. 

In the year 1917, a new war savings plan was arranged 
by which even the smallest investors could aid the gov- 
War ernment with their savings. Thrift stamps cost- 

Savings ing twenty-five cents each were sold, sixteen of 
Certificates w kich, w T ith a few cents additional, could be ex¬ 
changed for a war savings certificate. These certificates 


Treasury 

notes 


EXPENDITURE AND REVENUE 


m 

will become due on January 1, 1923, yielding interest at 
the rate of about four per cent. From this source the gov¬ 
ernment planned to raise two billion dollars during the year 
1918. 

310 . The National Debt. Until the Civil War the na¬ 
tional debt remained a comparatively small one, amount¬ 
ing at the outbreak of the war to about $60,000,000. By 
1862 it had increased to over $500,000,000; and in 1865 it 
reached a total of $2,674,815,856. 

After the war the country entered upon the tremendous 
task of paying off the debt, and in twenty-five years, $ 1 ,- 
784,031,486 of the public debt was paid, leaving an indebt¬ 
edness of $890,784,370. This amount was some- Debt since 
what increased by the Spanish-American War; but Civil War 
in the year preceding our entry into the World War, the 
national debt was $989,219,621, or less than ten dollars 
per capita. This indebtedness was increased to more than 
twenty-four billions as a result of our participation in the 
World War. 


GENERAL REFERENCES 

Adams, H. C., The Science of Finance (1905). 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xvm. 

- Readings in American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xvra. 

Blackmar, F. W., Economics for High Schools (1907), ch. xxxn. 

Bryce, James A., The American Commonwealth (1907), 1 , ch. xvn. 
Daniels, W. M., The Elements of Public Finance , pp. 30-38, 167-170. 
Dewey, D. R., Financial History of the United States (1903), chs. in, xxi. 
McClain, E., Constitutional Law in the United States (1905), pp. 137-142. 
Plehn, C. C., Introduction to Public Finance (1897). 

Reinsch, P. S., Readings on American Federal Government (1909), ch. viii. 
Woodburn, J. A., The American Republic and its Government (1908), pp. 
287-298. 


QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. Report upon the financial difficulties of the government under the 
Articles of Confederation. 

2. Prepare a report upon Hamilton’s financial policy. 

3. Prepare a report upon the systems of taxation employed during the 
Civil War. (Consult Dewey, D. R., Financial History of the United 
States, ch. xm.) 

4. Are there any limitations on the purposes for which the federal govern¬ 
ment may levy taxes? 



230 GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 

5. If both the United States and a State government tax the same prop-* 
erty, which claim must be first satisfied? 

6. Has the federal government any exclusive powers of taxation? 

7. May State governments tax corporations created by the United States? 
May States tax the incomes of federal officials? The income derived 
from United States bonds? 

8. May the United States government tax legacies? May a State tax 
imported goods? 

9. Discuss the arguments in favor of a federal income tax. 

10. May Congress provide a lower rate of duties on goods shipped to Bos¬ 
ton than on similar goods shipped to New York? 

11. What imports are taxed heavily for the sake of revenue only? Does 
the chief burden fall on articles of luxury or necessity? 

12. Describe the collection of the federal revenue. (Dewey, D. R., Finan¬ 
cial History of the United States, pp. 488-492.) 

13. Describe the process of enacting a tariff bill. (Dew’ey, D. R., Financial 
History of the United States, pp. 478-483.) 

14. What were the revenues for the last fiscal year? The expenditures? 
The chief items under each head? 

15. Account for the enormous growth of governmental expenditures. Is 
this increase justifiable? (Reinsch, P. S., Readings, pp. 355-359.) 

16. Expenditures for the army, fortifications, navy, and pensions com¬ 
prise what per cent of the total federal expenditures? Is this exces¬ 
sive? 

17. Describe the process of passing appropriation bills. (Dewey, D. R., 
Financial History, pp. 483-488; Reinsch, P. S., Readings, pp. 301-355.) 

18. Summarize the criticisms upon our system of congressional finance. 
How can these defects be remedied? (Bryce, James, The American 
Commonwealth, i, pp. 174-182; Reinsch, P. S., Readings, pp. 317-320.) 

19. Discuss the reasons given by President Cleveland for his veto of the 
River and Harbor Bill in 1896. (Reinsch, P. S., Readings, pp. 359-361.) 

20. May Congress distribute surplus revenue among the States? Has this 
ever been done? 

21. Report upon the custody of the public funds. (Kinley, David, The 
Independent Treasury of the United States; Dewey, D. R., Financial 
History, pp. 492-494.) 

22. Are there any limitations on the borrowing power of the United States? 

23. May Congress lower the rate of interest on government bonds before 
their maturity? 

24. What is meant by the statement that bonds are quoted at 106? At 
98? Examine your daily papers for the current price of United States 
bonds. How do you account for difference in these prices? 

25. What is a sinking-fund? What is meant by funding the debt? 


CHAPTER XXIII 

COINAGE AND CURRENCY 


311. Origin and Functions of Money. Money may be 
defined as that which serves as a medium of exchange 
throughout the community, being accepted in final dis¬ 
charge of debts and in full payment for commodities, with¬ 
out reference to the credit of the person who offers it. 

The earliest exchanges were effected by barter, but the 
serious disadvantages of this method led to the adoption 
of a generally desired commodity as a common medium of 
exchange. Cattle, furs, tobacco, and other commodities 
have served in primitive societies as a medium of exchange; 
but these crude forms of money were gradually supplanted 
by the precious metals, gold and silver. 

Money owes its origin to the action of individuals, but 
governments gradually asserted their control over money 
in three ways: (1) by selecting the commodity Govern . 
which had previously served as a medium of ex- ments and 
change between individuals, and making it the mone7 
means of payment for government fines and taxes; (2) by 
establishing systems of public coinage and prohibiting coin¬ 
age by private individuals; (3) by making the government 
coins a legal tender in discharge of all debts. 

Money serves three important functions: ( 1 ) as a medium 
of exchange, obviating the difficulties of barter; ( 2 ) as a 
measure of values, that is, a common denomi- 

F unctions 

nator in which the exchange values of other com¬ 
modities are reckoned; (3) as a standard of deferred pay¬ 
ments, that is, the measure of debts whose payment is post¬ 
poned to a future time. 

312. Monetary System of the United States. Power to 


233 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


regulate the monetary system of the United States is vested 
Financial exclusively in Congress, the States being forbid- 
power oi den to create either a metallic or a paper currency, 
congress rphe f ec j era ] constitution confers upon Congress 

the power “to coin money and regulate the value thereof 
and of foreign coin ”; 1 and by express provision the States 
are forbidden to coin money, emit bills of credit, or make 
anything but gold or silver coin a legal tender in payment 
of debts . 2 Under the interpretation of the Supreme Court, 
Congress is thus vested expressly with the power to create 
metal money and regulate its value; vested impliedly with 
power to create paper money and regulate its value; and 
vested impliedly with power to make anything it wishes 
legal tender in payment of any debt. 

Currency — a term which includes all money authorized 
by the government — is of two kinds, metallic and paper. 
Kinds of The metallic currency of the United States now 
money consists of gold coins, silver dollars, and subsid¬ 

iary coins; the paper currency of gold certificates, silver 
certificates, United States notes, national-bank notes, 
treasury notes (Act of 1890), and federal reserve notes. 
Thus, in all, nine kinds of money or currency are author¬ 
ized, three of which — gold coins, silver dollars, and 
United States notes — are full legal tender; while the sub¬ 
sidiary coins are legal tender only in limited amounts . 3 

313 . History of Metallic Currency. The federal constitu¬ 
tion gives the national government entire control of the 
Coinage Act currency, and in 1792 Congress passed the first 
oi 1792 coinage act. This law provided for the free coin¬ 
age of gold and silver at the ratio of 15 to 1, a proportion 
which approximated the bullion values of the metals. The 
monetary unit was the gold dollar consisting of 24J grains 
of pure gold, and the silver dollar containing fifteen times 


1 Constitution, Art. I, Sec. 8, Par. 5. 2 Ibid., Art. I, Sec. 10, Par. 1. 

* Subsidiary coins include the half-dollar, quarter, and dime, which are legal tender to 
the amount of ten dollars: and the so-called minor coins, the nickel and cent, which are legal 
tender to the amount of twenty-five cents. 


COINAGE AND CURRENCY 


233 


that amount, or 37li grains of pure silver. Eagles, half and 
quarter eagles, and silver dollars were to be coined, and were 
made full legal tender. 

In 1873 an act was passed which discontinued the coinage 
of the silver dollar of 371J grains, and established as the 
sole unit of value the gold dollar containing 23.22 Demonetiza- 
grains of pure gold. Silver was thus demonetized tlon ° f su™r 
(that is, no longer received by the government to be coined 
into money); and the country was placed upon a mono¬ 
metallic (one-metal) basis, with free coinage of gold only. 
This action in combination with other causes led to a rapid 
decline in the value of silver as compared with that of gold. 

This demonetization of silver attracted little attention in 
1873; but as silver began to decline rapidly in price, those 
who were interested in its sale as a commodity, Battle of the 
together with many who believed the circulating standard s 
medium unduly restricted if limited to one metal, united 
in a demand for the renewed free coinage of silver. The more 
radical friends of silver referred to the demonetization act 
as “the crime of ’73”; and the period from 1873 to 1900 
■—described by one writer as the “battle of the stand¬ 
ards ” — was one of constant agitation, discussion, and 
legislation with reference to the money question. 

314 . Currency Act of 1900 . The elections of 1896 and 
1900 resulted in the defeat of the party declaring in favor 
of the free coinage of silver at the ratio of 16 to 1 , chief pro- 
and the Currency Act of March 14,1900, formally vlslons 
committed the United States to the policy of gold mono¬ 
metallism which had in fact prevailed since 1873. The 
important provisions of this act are: — 

( 1 ) The gold dollar is declared to be the standard unit 
of value, and all forms of money issued by the govern¬ 
ment are to be maintained on a parity with it. 

( 2 ) The treasury notes of 1890 are to be retired as rapidly 
as possible, being replaced by silver coins or silver certif¬ 
icates. 


234 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


(3) Greenbacks when paid into the treasury are not to 
be reissued except for gold; and a special gold reserve of 
$150,000,000 is to be maintained for their redemption. 
If necessary to maintain the gold reserve, short-time gold 
bonds bearing not over three per cent interest may be is¬ 
sued and sold to make up the deficiency in the reserve. 

(4) New regulations are introduced with reference to the 
various forms of paper money, such as that gold certifi¬ 
cates shall not be issued in smaller amounts than twenty 
dollars each, while silver certificates are to be issued only 
in denominations of ten dollars or less. 

315 . Paper Currency. Paper currency is of two kinds, 
bank notes and government paper money. The discussion 
of bank currency involves a brief study of the institutions 
by which such currency has been issued — the two United 
States banks, the State banks, and the existing national 
banks. Government paper money will be discussed under 
two heads, treasury notes and legal-tender notes. 

316 . First United States Bank. Hamilton’s financial 
measures included the organization of a bank modeled on 

Advantages Bank of England, in which the federal govern- 
of a federal ment should be interested as a partner. The chief 
advantages claimed for such an institution were 
that it would afford a market for government bonds, and 
aid the Treasury by making loans; that it would afford a 
safe depository for government funds; and that its note 
issues would furnish the country with a uniform and stable 
paper currency. The bank project was vigorously opposed 
on constitutional as well as economic grounds by Jefferson, 
Madison, and Randolph, but the act granting the charter 
became law in 1791. The bank was prosperous and success¬ 
ful, paying eight per cent dividends from the start; and the 
assistance which it rendered to the Treasury was fully as 
great as had been anticipated. However, when its charter 
expired in 1811, the bill for renewal was defeated in Con¬ 
gress by a close vote, the partisans of the State banks being 


COINAGE AND CURRENCY 


235 


aided in their opposition by those who believed a federal 
bank unconstitutional. 

317 . Second United States Bank. The close of the War 
of 1812 found the currency in confusion. The State banks 
outside of Massachusetts had suspended specie Reasonlor 
payments, and had issued bank notes in excessive estabust- 
amounts. A second United States Bank was pro- ment 
posed as a means of supplying financial resources to an 
embarrassed Treasury, and restoring the national currency 
to a specie basis. Accordingly in 1816 Congress chartered 
a second United States Bank for a period of twenty years, 
following substantially the plan of the first bank. 1 The cen¬ 
tral bank was located at Philadelphia, and in time twenty- 
five branches were established. The institution aroused the 
hostility of the State banks, and eventually incurred the 
enmity of President Jackson, whose famous war on the 
bank (1832-1836) prevented the renewal of its charter. 

318 . State Banks. Much of the opposition to the first and 
second United States Banks came from the banks chartered 
by the various States. Three such institutions character- 
existed when the new government was established; istics 

in 1815 there were 208; and during the period from 1829- 
1837, the number increased from 329 to 788, while the vol¬ 
ume of note issues and loans more than trebled. The char¬ 
acter of the State banks varied greatly, depending upon the 
conditions imposed by the State granting the charter, and 
upon the surplus capital available in the particular commu¬ 
nity. Some were “mere batches of paper money” without 
property or resources; others, especially in New York and 
New England, were carefully regulated and prudently 
managed. 

1 The question of constitutionality was settled by the Supreme Court in the celebrated 
case of McCulloch v. Maryland (1819). The two points decided in this case are: (1) Under 
the constitution. Congress has the power to charter a United States Bank, this being a neces¬ 
sary and proper instrument for carrying on the fiscal operations of government. (2) A State 
cannot tax such a bank or its branches, since the bank is an instrument employed by the fed¬ 
eral government in the execution of its powers, and such an agency is exempt from State 
taxation. 


236 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Public 

functions 


In 1865, to strengthen the newly established national 
banking system, Congress laid a tax of ten per cent on the 

state bank i ssue °f notes by State banks, thereby taxing 
notes eiim- these notes out of existence. Many State banks 
still exist, performing the banking functions of 
deposit and discount; but they cannot afford to issue notes 
because of the federal tax. 

319 . The National Banks. During the Civil War, the 
imperious necessity of finding a market for United States 
bonds, together with the recognized evils of the State bank 
currency, led to the establishment of a system of national 
banks (February, 1863). In 1864 the law was largely recast, 
and (with later minor changes), the national banking sys¬ 
tem as it exists to-day was created. Besides 
the usual banking functions of deposit and dis¬ 
count, national banks perform three important public 
functions: ( 1 ) that of affording a market for United States 
bonds, ( 2 ) providing a paper currency of uniform and stable 
value, and (3) serving as depositories for public money. 

320 . Custody of the Public Funds. During the exist¬ 
ence of the first and second United States Banks, these 
Early public institutions had served as public depositories; in 
depositories interval between the two banks ( 1811 - 1816 ), 

the government used the State banks as depositories, 
as it did in 1834 when the Secretary of the Treasury 
withdrew the government deposits from the United States 
Bank. 

In 1840, an act was passed establishing the independent 
treasury system. Under this plan, the public funds were 
independ- kept in the vaults of the treasury at Washing- 
ent treasury ton, or j n the n i ne sub-treasuries located in vari¬ 
ous cities. The drawback of the independent treasury 
system was that it involved the withdrawal of large sums 
of money from circulation, thereby causing spasmodic 
fluctuations in prices and derangement of the money mar¬ 
ket. With the establishment of our system of national 


COINAGE AND CURRENCY 


237 


banks, and later, by creating the federal reserve and farm 
loan banks, this objectionable feature was done away with. 
Only a part of the public funds are now kept in the treasury 
and sub-treasuries; and the Secretary of the Treasury, at 
his discretion, may deposit the public funds with the na¬ 
tional banks, or with the federal reserve or farm loan banks, 
so that these funds become available in meeting the busi¬ 
ness needs of the country. 

321 . Government Paper Money. Bank notes constitute 
one class of paper currency; the other is government paper 
money. The first issue of this form of money 

1SSU63 

under the constitution was during the War of before the 
1812. The notes were not legal tender, but were CivilWar 
receivable for taxes and public dues. These notes remained 
at par in specie until the banks suspended specie payments 
(1814). The panic of 1837 led to a second issue of treasury 
notes, the total issues from 1837 to 1843 amounting to 
$47,002,900. A third issue of such notes occurred during 
the Mexican War (1846-1848). 

During the Civil War, a large variety of interest-bearing 
notes was issued, including one- and two-year notes, com¬ 
pound interest notes, and certificates of deposit, ShorMlme 
amounting in all to $1,098,000,000. These issues, loans of 
like the earlier ones, were not legal tender, and 
were really certificates of indebtedness issued to secure 
short-time voluntary loans. 

322 . Legal-Tender United States Notes. On February 
25, 1862, an act was passed authorizing the issue of a dif¬ 
ferent sort of currency — namely, $150,000,000 Threelssueg 

of legal-tender United States notes, in denomina- during civil 
° War 

tions of not less than five dollars. The notes au¬ 
thorized were to be a legal tender for all public and private 
debts, except duties on imports and interest on United 
States bonds and securities. Inasmuch as the notes were 
not redeemable in specie, they virtually constituted a forced 
loan to the government. Shortly afterwards, a second act 


238 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


was passed (July 11, 1862), authorizing the issue of another 
$150,000,000. By acts of January 17, 1863, and March 3, 
1863, a third issue of $150,000,000 was authorized. Thus 
the legal-tender acts authorized a total of $450,000,000 in 
notes, of which amount $431,000,000 was actually outstand¬ 
ing on June 30, 1864. 

The issue of these non-interest-bearing legal-tender notes 

constitutes a landmark in our financial history, for it was 

_ . the first attempt under the constitution to create 

Controversy 1 

over legal- fiat money — that is, paper currency not based 
tender notes • in* . • • • , 

upon com or bullion, containing no promise to 

pay coin, and therefore not convertible. The opponents of 
the measure urged the unconstitutionality of such action, 1 
and the economic disasters which would surely follow. On 
the other hand, the issue of legal tenders was declared neces¬ 
sary and justifiable by reason of public exigency — the 
necessity of meeting immediate government obligations, 
and of providing money for the purchase of bonds. 

The greenbacks fluctuated greatly in value, falling to 
thirty-nine cents on the dollar in July, 1864. The chief 
Deprecia- results of the depreciation were the rise of prices 
tion of commodities, and the fluctuating premiums on 

gold. Prices more than doubled from 1860 to 1865, while 
money wages only increased about forty-three per cent. 
Hence the heavy burden of inflation rested upon the laborers 
of the country, since wages and salaries did not rise in pro¬ 


portion to prices. 

After the war the volume of greenbacks was gradually 
decreased, but yielding to popular opposition, Congress in 

Contraction 1878 orc * ere d ^ iat ^ iere should be no further 
contraction of the greenbacks, and that when paid 

into the treasury these notes should be reissued. Since this 
legislation has not been repealed, the amount of legal- 
tender notes then outstanding, $346,681,016, is still current. 


1 The Supreme Court of the United States at first decided that the legal-tender acts were 
unconstitutional. Soon afterwards, this decision was overruled, the court holding that Con¬ 
gress has full power to issue legal-tender paper money. 


COINAGE AND CURRENCY 


239 


323. Resumption of Specie Payments. Not until Janu¬ 
ary 14, 1875, did Congress enact legislation looking toward 

a resumption of specie payments. On that date 

. . .. „ Resumption 

an act was passed, providing tor resumption on 

January 1,1879. The Secretary of the Treasury was author¬ 
ized to use the surplus specie in the treasury for this purpose, 
and if necessary to obtain additional gold through the sale 
of bonds. On becoming Secretary of the Treasury in 1877, 
Sherman commenced the accumulation of a gold reserve; 
and on January 1 , 1879, he had accumulated $133,000,000 
in coin ($95,500,000 through the sale of bonds). Slowly but 
gradually the value of the greenbacks rose toward parity 
with gold; and on December 17, 1878, they were quoted 
at par. 

324 . Recent Currency Legislation. In 1913, Congress 
passed the important currency measure known as the “Fed¬ 
eral Reserve Act.” The purpose of this act is to 

make our currency system more elastic, and our 
banking system more responsive to the needs of trade. For 
example, if more money is needed to meet business condi¬ 
tions, the new law permits the issue of currency in the form 
of federal reserve notes. These are secured by short-time 
commercial paper, and are withdrawn from circulation when 
no longer needed. 

The act creates a central managing board at Washington, 
known as the “Federal Reserve Board.” This consists of 
seven members, including the Secretary of the Federal Re- 
Treasury, the Comptroller of the Currency, and serve Board 
five members appointed by the President. This board has 
general supervision over our national banking system. The 
entire United States is divided into twelve federal reserve 
districts. In each of these a chief city is selected as a bank¬ 
ing center; for example, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, San 
Francisco, and Cleveland are the centers for their respective 
districts. 

To understand the working of the measure, let us take 


240 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


the federal reserve bank located at Cleveland as an example. 
Federal Re- This is the reserve bank for District No. 4, com- 
serve Banks prising the State of Ohio, western Pennsylvania, 

eastern Kentucky, and the panhandle of West Virginia. 
All national banks in this district are members of the system, 
each membership bank having subscribed to the stock of the 
federal reserve bank. The Cleveland Reserve Bank is man¬ 
aged by a board of nine directors, three of whom are chosen 
by the Federal Reserve Board at Washington, and six by 
the membership banks of the district. The Cleveland Re¬ 
serve Bank holds a part of the reserves of its membership 
banks, and exercises other important banking functions. 

325 . Advantages of the Federal Reserve System. Let 

us suppose that for some reason, such as the moving of 

How the crops, a large amount of money is needed tern- 

system aids porarily in the Cleveland district. This can be 
business • • 

supplied in several ways. The Secretary of the 
Treasury, acting with the Federal Reserve Board at Wash¬ 
ington, may transfer additional deposits from unused money 
in the Treasury. Or the Federal Reserve Board may make 
temporary transfer to Cleveland of surplus reserve funds in 
the federal reserve bank at Chicago, or the one at New 
York. 

Most important of all, the reserve bank at Cleveland is 
authorized to rediscount commercial paper, and to supply 

Provision for its mem bership banks with currency to be loaned 
an elastic to their customers upon such paper. In other 

words, the reserve bank accepts from its member¬ 
ship banks the collateral on which they have made loans, and 
issues to them notes or currency in exchange for this collat¬ 
eral. Provision is made for the withdrawal of this extra 
currency when the need for it has been met, so that there 
may not be a permanent inflation of the outstanding vol¬ 
ume of circulating notes. In this way, a discount market is 
created which makes the bills and notes that are given and 
taken in ordinary business readily translatable into cash. 


COINAGE AND CURRENCY 


241 


The new system enables the banking power of the 
United States to be used as a whole in times of emergency, 
very much as if there were one central bank with „ 
branches throughout the country. The scattered our banking 
reserves of thousands of heretofore independent syst8m 
banks are mobilized, and made mutually available for one 
another. Moreover, the government no longer deposits 
its surplus funds in ordinary banks, or lets them lie unused 
in the vaults of sub-treasuries; but rather, places them in 
the federal reserve banks, subject to the supervision of the 
Federal Reserve Board at Washington. 

Besides reforming our national banking system, the new 
currency law extends the aid of that system to fields hitherto 
untouched. We have seen that the act provides Aid to 
credit facilities for agriculture, recognizing the SnaSoxoiga 
peculiar needs of that industry, and making special commerce 
provision for them. It also lends its aid to our rapidly grow¬ 
ing foreign commerce. With the approval of the Federal 
Reserve Board, any national bank with a capital and sur¬ 
plus of $1,000,000 may establish foreign branches “for the 
furtherance of the commerce of the United States.” 

GENERAL REFERENCES 

Blackmar, F. W., Economics for High Schools (1907), chs. xxvm-xxix. 
Bullock, C. J., The Monetary History of the United States (1900), pp. 79-121. 
Dewey, D. R., Financial History of the United States (1903). 

Dunbar, C. F., Theory and History of Banking (1893), ch. ix. 

Hart, A. B., Actual Government (1903), pp. 496-499. 

Jevons, W. Stanley, Money and the Mechanism of Exchange. 

McClain, E., Constitutional Law in the United States (1905), cn. xin. 
Walker, F. A., Money in its Relations to Trade and Industry (1899). 
Watson, D. K., History of American Coinage (1899). 

White, H., Money and Banking (1896). 

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. What were Hamilton’s arguments in favor of the establishment of the 

first United States Bank? _ TT • ■ , n. . r» i 

2. Prepare a report on Jackson’s war on the second United states Hank. 

3. What is the value of the silver in a silver dollar? What makes this coin 
worth one dollar in gold? What is the value of the gold in a five-dollar 
gold-piece? 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


242 


4. Examine the last Statistical Abstract, and prepare a table showing the 
amount of money in the United States. 

5. From this table calculate the per capita circulation of money in the 
United States. 

6. In what denominations are the different coins and paper money issued 
by the government? 

7. Bring to class each of the various forms of currency for examination 

8. What relation exists between prices and the amount of money in circu« 
lation? How is the amount of currency increased as needed? 

9. Where is gold produced in large quantities? Where are the largest 
silver-mines? What was the total production of each metal last year? 

10. What sections of the country and what classes of the population have 
generally favored cheap money? Why is this? 

11. Prepare a report upon the free-silver issue in the campaign of 1896. 

12. Prepare a report upon the three issues of United States notes during 
the Civil War. 

13. What is the essential difference between United States notes or “green¬ 
backs,” and other forms of paper money? 

14. Explain the causes of the fluctuations in value of United States notes 
during the period 1862-1879. 

15. Prepare a brief report upon the Legal-Tender decisions. 

16. From your examination of a United States note, answer the following: 
(a) In what year did Congress authorize its issue? (b) Is it a legal 
tender? (c) What did the words “will pay the bearer five dollars’* 
mean when the note was issued? (d) What do these words mean now? 

17. Would it have been better if the framers of the constitution had in¬ 
serted a prohibition of the issue of legal-tender paper money? What 
danger is there in permitting Congress to exercise this power? 

18. Name the national banks in your city. What is the capital of each? 
Why does the public ordinarily have confidence in their management? 

19. Name several State banks in your city. What functions do these banks 
exercise? What function possessed by the national banks do they lack? 

20. Prepare a report upon the State banks prior to the Civil War. 

21. What forms of credit are largely employed as a substitute for money? 


CHAPTER XXIV 

COMMERCIAL FUNCTIONS 


326 . Commerce under the Constitution. The constitu¬ 
tion vests in Congress the power “to regulate commerce 
with foreign nations and among the several Constl _ 
States, and with the Indian tribes.” 1 Under this tutionai 
provision, each State retains control of the com- provlslons 
merce wholly within its boundaries; and only when com¬ 
merce passes beyond State boundaries to another State or 
foreign country does it become subject to federal control . 2 

The term “commerce” as used in the constitution has 
been broadly construed by the Supreme Court. It includes 
traffic, or the purchase and sale of goods, and also Definition 
navigation and intercourse whether by land or 01 00mmerce 
water, together with all the means or agencies by which such 
intercourse is carried on. Transportation of persons, as well 
as freight, is included within the term. The control of for¬ 
eign commerce by Congress has been exercised chiefly with 
reference to three subjects — navigation, the tariff, and 
immigration. 

327 . Navigation. Congress regulates navigation between 
this country and foreign nations, and between the States 
of the Union. Even navigation upon a stream federal 
wholly within the boundaries of a single State contro1 

is subject to federal regulation, provided the stream by 
uniting with other waters forms part of “a continued high¬ 
way over which commerce is or may be carried on with 
other States or foreign countries.” 


1 Constitution, Art. I, Sec. 8, Par. 3. 

* The authority of Congress over foreign and interstate commerce is subject to two 
constitutional limitations: (1) no tax or duty may be levied on articles exported from any 
State; and (2) no preference may be given, by commercial or revenue regulations, to the porta 
of one State over those of another. 


244 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


In this connection, Congress has established rules of navi¬ 
gation; laws relating to the government of seamen on Amer¬ 
ican ships; establishing port and quarantine regulations; 
providing for coast surveys, lighthouses, buoys, life-saving 
stations, and for the improvement of rivers and harbors. 

At the beginning of our war with Germany, less than one 
tenth of our foreign commerce was carried in American 

creating a S ^^P S * Although our merchant marine totaled 
newmer- 8,600,000 tons, four millions of this tonnage 
consisted of coastwise vessels, and three millions 
of vessels that plied the Great Lakes. We had, therefore, 
less than two million tons of shipping of size and strength 
practicable for transatlantic sailing. 

To meet the situation created by the war, Congress au¬ 
thorized the expenditure of $3,671,000,000 for the con¬ 
struction of a great merchant fleet, and the Shipping 
Board was organized to take charge of the work of con¬ 
struction. The result has been the creation of a commercial 
armada second only to that of Great Britain, and greater 
than the combined merchant fleets of any other ten nations. 
On January 1 , 1920, the American flag flew over 2584 sea¬ 
going ships, with a total measurement of nearly 10 , 000,000 
tons; while some 500 more ships of 2,500,000 tons were under 
construction or contract. Fifty per cent of our immense 
foreign trade is now moving under the American flag. 

328 . River and Harbor Improvements. The improve¬ 
ment of waterways is one of the most important means of 
improve- aiding navigation, and for this purpose the federal 
ment of government spends annually many millions, 
waterways rpj^ g reat defect G f r i ver and harbor legislation is 

that many unimportant improvements are undertaken in 
order to appease local interests and thus gain the necessary 
support of members — an evil so great that the river and 
harbor bill has been facetiously dubbed the “pork barrel.” 

Extensive harbor improvements have been carried out, 
such as the construction of breakwaters and piers at Chi- 



(By coTcrtespq?the Isthmian Canal Commission 

OPENING OF THE PANAMA CANAL 
S.S. Ancon in the West Chamber, Gatun middle locks, August 15,1914. 



(By courtesy of the Isthmian Canal Commission) 

OPENING OF THE PANAMA CANAL 
S.S. Ancon on Gatun Lake, August 15, 1914 









































COMMERCIAL FUNCTIONS 


245 


cago, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Milwaukee; and vast sums 
are expended annually for the deepening of har- Harl)or im _ 
bors, principally by dredging. Levees or artificial Pavements 
dikes have been constructed on a large scale, especially 
along the Mississippi. All river and harbor improvements 
undertaken by the federal government are carried on under 
the direction of the Secretary of War, aided by engineers of 
the United States Army. 

The Panama Canal at the southern extremity of North 
America is the greatest project yet undertaken by the 
United States for the promotion of commerce, panama 
The canal is fifty miles in length, from deep water Canal 
in the Caribbean Sea to deep water in the Pacific Ocean. 
Constructed under the direction of the Department of War, 
it was opened to commerce in August, 1914. 

329 . Tariff Duties. A system of tariff duties constitutes 
one of the principal means by which the United States, in 
common with many other countries, seeks to Revenue 
regulate commerce. Tariff duties include both im- 
port and export duties, but the latter are forbidden under 
our constitution, and are no longer levied by any important 
country. Import duties are sometimes levied solely to secure 
revenue for the government, in which case only commodities 
that do not compete with domestic products are taxed. 
This system of duties is called a revenue tariff, and prevails 
in Great Britain, Holland, Belgium, and a few other coun¬ 
tries. 

More often import duties are levied so as to restrict for¬ 
eign competition in the interest of home producers, being 
laid upon commodities which compete with do- Protective 
mestic products. This system of duties is called tariff3 
protective, and prevails in the United States and in many 
other countries. In the United States the tariff question 
has frequently been an issue in political campaigns, and has 
been widely discussed by writers upon economics. 

The Underwood Tariff Act passed in 1913 by a Demo- 


246 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Glasses 

excluded 


cratic Congress made material reductions in the tariff rates. 
Recent This measure was superseded in 1922 by a Re- 
Legisiation p U foli can tariff law which raised the average rate 

of duties to 45 per cent, and transferred many commodities 
from the free to the dutiable list. 

330 . Immigration. As part of its commercial power, 
Congress may regulate immigration or the coming of for¬ 
eigners to this country for the purpose of residence. Until 
1882 immigration to the United States was free from 
any restriction by federal law. In 1882 Congress passed 
acts designed to exclude the pauper, criminal, and insane 
classes of aliens, as well as Chinese laborers; and a few years 
later (1885), the Alien Contract Labor Law was passed. 

Under these and later acts, the classes of aliens debarred 
include idiots, insane persons, paupers or persons likely to 
become public charges, epileptics and persons suf¬ 
fering from contagious disease, criminals, polyg¬ 
amists, anarchists, persons whose passage is paid by an¬ 
other (with certain exceptions), laborers under contract 
made previous to emigration to perform labor or service in 
the United States, and Chinese and Japanese laborers. 

The situation arising as a result of the World War clearly 
revealed the need of additional restrictions until the mil¬ 
lions of foreign born persons already here should 
become thoroughly Americanized. The law 
passed by Congress in 1921 limited the number of immi¬ 
grants during the following year to three per cent of the 
foreign born persons of each nationality already in the 
United States. 

Immigrants not qualified to enter are returned at the 
expense of the steamship company bringing them, this liabil- 
Adminis- ity continuing for a period of one year after land- 
immigration m 8' Less than two per cent of the immigrants 
iaws who reach this country are excluded. The admin¬ 
istration of immigration laws is entrusted to the commis¬ 
sioner-general of immigration of the Department of Labor. 


Act of 
1921 


COMMERCIAL FUNCTIONS 


247 


Inspection by United States officials is provided for both at 
the point of departure and at the port of entry in this 
country. 

331. General Characteristics of Immigration. Certain 
general characteristics of our immigration are so important 
as to deserve particular notice. Foremost among these is 
the great increase in the number of immigrants. Except 
during two decades, immigration has steadily increased 
since 1820, until the number of annual arrivals now approx¬ 
imates one million. 


Two Main Sources of 
Immigration from Europe 


KEY 


NORTHWEST EUROPE 
SOUTHEAST EUROPE 
ALL OTHER PARTS 


YEARS 

PERCENTAGES 

1821-1830 

^All other pa it*-; 

1831-1840 


1841-1850 


1851-1860 


1861-1870 

109 M 

1871-1880 

^16.5 Jjgj 

1881-1890 

1891-1900 


1901-1910 

o° 65 - 9 ^ jili 

1911-1914 

* 66.2 l-M 9,1v£ 

- 11. I""..J 


Based on Annual Reports 
Commissioner General of Immigration 


Even more important than this great increase in numbers 
is the marked change in the character of immigration. 
Formerly the great majority of immigrants came from 































248 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


countries allied to us in race or language — from Great 
Change in Britain, Germany, and the Scandinavian coun- 
character tries; while a very small proportion came from the 
peoples of southern and eastern Europe allied to us by neither 
language nor race, and hence vastly more difficult of assimi¬ 
lation. Thus in the decade from 1871 to 1880, about seventy 
per cent of our immigrants came from the United Kingdom, 
Germany, and the Scandinavian countries; and only about 
sixteen per cent from the countries of southern and eastern 
Europe, chiefly Italy, Russia, and Austria-Hungary. In 
the years since 1880, the immigration from southern Europe 
has rapidly increased, while that from northern Europe 
has relatively declined. From 1880 until 1921, northwestern 
Europe sent only about twenty-five per cent of the total 
immigration, while southeastern Europe supplied sixty-six 
per cent, most of which came from Austria-Hungary, Italy, 
and Russia. 

332 . Social Effects of Immigration. With this change in 
the sources of our immigration, the percentage of illiterate 
Concentra- immigrants has greatly increased. Another seri- 
tion in cities ous difficulty arises from the tendency of immi¬ 
grants to concentrate in large cities. About 13 per cent of 
the total population of the United States is foreign-born; but 
in the urban communities (cities, towns, villages, and bor¬ 
oughs), 22.6 per cent of the population is foreign-born, while 
in the rest of the country only 7.5 per cent is foreign-born. 
This concentration of immigrants has not only greatly in¬ 
creased the work of assimilation and education, but it has 
rendered vastly more difficult the many other problems 
which municipal governments must solve. Other important 
social effects of immigration relate to crime, pauperism, and 
insanity. Statistics show that of the criminal, pauper, and 
insane classes, the foreign-born furnish a much larger rela¬ 
tive percentage than is the case with our native-born popu¬ 
lation. 

333 . Control of Interstate Commerce. As already pointed 



(By courtesy of the Commissioner of Immigration) 


UNITED STATES IMMIGRANT STATION 
Ellis Island, New York Harbor. 



REGISTRY FLOOR, ELLIS ISLAND IMMIGRANT STATION 
Showing the spaces in which the immigrants await examination before admission, 











































THE CUSTOM HOUSE AT NEW YORK CITY 
One of the newest custom house buildings. 



(Photograph by William L. Beecher) 
THE CUSTOM HOUSE AT PHILADELPHIA 
An example of the architecture of the older buildings of this sort. 









































COMMERCIAL FUNCTIONS 


249 


out, interstate as well as foreign commerce is subject to the 
control of Congress. By interstate commerce is 

i eaerai 

meant the commerce which passes beyond the control not 
boundary of one State and enters another. Thus exclusive 
the term includes the transportation of goods, persons, or 
intelligence across State lines. While the power of Con¬ 
gress over interstate commerce is complete, it is not exclu¬ 
sive as in the case of foreign commerce. Interstate com¬ 
merce may be affected by police regulations adopted by the 
States, such as quarantine and inspection laws, designed to 
prevent the introduction of persons or animals suffering 
from contagious or infectious disease. 1 

334. Instruments of Interstate Commerce. One of the 
most important means of promoting interstate commerce is 
the postal system, an exclusive monopoly of the p os tai 
federal government. The control of Congress system 
over the postal service is based, not upon its power to regu¬ 
late commerce, but upon its constitutional authority “to 
establish post offices and post roads.” Whether Congress 
has constitutional authority to make a government monop¬ 
oly of other means of transmitting intelligence, such as the 
telegraph and telephone systems, is an open question. Up 
to the present time these natural monopolies have been left 
in the hands of private companies, subject to congressional 
regulation of all interstate business transacted. 

Money has been called the mechanism of exchange, and it 
is unquestionably one of the most important instruments of 
commerce. As we have seen, the federal govern- currency 
ment has entire control of the circulating medium, and banks 
including the right to coin money, to establish a standard 
of value, and to declare what money shall be legal tender. 
Furthermore, the power of Congress to provide a currency 

1 In order that State regulations affecting interstate commerce may be valid, two condi¬ 
tions are essential. First, the subject must be local in its nature, and one which can be best 
regulated by special provisions adapted to localities. Second, State regulations even upon 
local subjects are invalid if the subject-matter has been covered by federal legislation — since 
in matters of interstate commerce, the police regulations of Congress are of paramount 
authority. 


250 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


and to borrow money has been held to warrant the estab¬ 
lishment of our system of national banks. 

The constitution vests in Congress power to fix the stand¬ 
ard of weights and measures, 1 recognizing the importance 
Weights and to commerce of a uniform system. The adoption 
measures by a p the States of the old English standards of 
weights and measures has partly obviated the need of con¬ 
gressional legislation. Up to the present time Congress has 
done little in the execution of this power, except to make 
permissive but not obligatory the use of the metric system. 2 

The power of Congress “to establish uniform rules on the 
subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States,” 3 
Bankruptcy affects commerce to an important extent. The 
laws object of a bankruptcy law is to provide a judicial 

process whereby a person who cannot pay all his debts may 
divide his property proportionately among his creditors, 
and be discharged from further legal obligation. 

335. Railway Transportation. The period following the 
Civil War was marked by a rapid development of the rail- 
Eviisin way industry. Many new lines were built, and 
manage- an era excessive competition followed, which 
ment proved injurious both to the roads and to the 
communities which they served. Between two points with a 
single line of railroad, rates were often exorbitant; whereas if 
competing lines connected two cities, the rates were some¬ 
times below cost — the railways compensating themselves 
by heavy charges between points where there was no com¬ 
petition. Not only were there discriminations as between 
localities, but lower rates were often granted to favored 
shippers, thus making possible the creation of monopolies 
in certain industries. The railroads themselves endeavored 
to correct some of the evils resulting from excessive com¬ 
petition by forming combinations or “pools,” — arrange- 


1 Constitution, Art. X, Sec. 8, Par. 5. 

2 The metric system is in use throughout most of the western world except in the United 
States, and in Great Britain and her possessions. 

* Constitution, Art. 1 , Sec. 8, Par. 4. 


COMMERCIAL FUNCTIONS 


251 


merits under which all freight between certain points was 
to be carried at a specific rate, and the proceeds pooled or 
divided among the competing lines in a certain fixed ratio. 

As a result of these conditions, the shippers and the public 
generally demanded that the government take steps to 
regulate the railway traffic. Since the roads were state control 
ordinarily chartered by the States, relief was first lneMective 
sought from the State governments; and many common¬ 
wealths established railway commissions, some of which 
were authorized to fix maximum rates and to prevent 
pooling. State control proved ineffective because of its 
geographical limitations, since State regulations did not 
apply to the transportation which passed beyond State lines. 
By 1885, the railroads were deriving more than two thirds 
of their revenue from the interstate traffic which individual 
commonwealths were powerless to control, and widespread 
public sentiment demanded federal regulation of interstate 
transportation. 

336 . Federal Railway Legislation. Accordingly, in 1887, 
Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act. As amended 
by subsequent legislation, its chief provisions are totergtat# 
as follows: (1) Discriminating rates in favor of in- Commerce 
dividuals or localities are prohibited. (2) Pooling 
or combination for the purpose of dividing traffic is declared 
illegal. ( 3 ) Publicity of railroad rates is tnade compulsory 
by providing that all rates must be published and can only 
be changed after due notice. (4) In order to carry out its 
provisions, the act creates an Interstate Commerce Com¬ 
mission of eleven members, with power to require reports as 
to the operation of railroads, to hear complaints, summon 
witnesses, make investigations, and, under the Hepburn 
Act of 1906, to fix maximum rates. 

In 1917 the federal government took entire charge of the 
railroads for the period of the war. Although government 
control was perhaps necessary as a war measure, it proved 
neither economical nor efficient; and the physical equipment 


252 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Rate¬ 

making 


of the railroads depreciated greatly during this period. 

. Congress restored the roads to their owners by 
tionAct the Transportation Act of 1920, which estab¬ 
lished new and important principles for the 
control of railway traffic. 

(1) Consolidation is approved under certain conditions. 

The Interstate Commerce Commission is instructed to pre- 
Consoiida- pare and adopt plans looking toward the con- 
tlon solidation of the railroads of the country into a 

limited number of systems. Consolidation may also be 
undertaken on the initiative of the carriers, with the ap¬ 
proval of the Interstate Commerce Commission. 

(2) The act establishes a definite rule for determining rates 
that will yield a fair return on railroad values. The Inter¬ 
state Commerce Commission is to divide the rail¬ 
roads of the country into several groups, and then 

fix such rates within these groups as will yield a return of 5| 
per cent on the value of railway properties within each group. 

(3) The principle of profit-sharing is introduced. If the 
earnings of the railroads exceed 6 per cent, the excess earnings 
Profit- are to be divided equally between the government 
sharing and companies making the earnings. The gov¬ 
ernment’s share is to be used in furthering the public service 
rendered by the carriers either through the purchase of addi¬ 
tional equipment or facilities, or through loans to the railroads. 

(4) A revolving fund of $300,000,000 is created to provide 

Revolving loans to the railroads for extensions, betterments, 
,und and improvements. 

(5) A complete system for the conciliation of labor dis¬ 
putes is established, embracing local adjustment boards and 
Railroad La- a central Railroad Labor Board to which questions 

relating to wages and working conditions may be 
referred when the carriers and their employees cannot come 
to an agreement. 

Thus while the railroads of the United btates are to be 
owned by private capital and operated under private man- 



COMMERCIAL FUNCTIONS 


253 


agement, they are henceforth to be considered as a unified 
system managed by the public through its agent, private 
the Interstate Commerce Commission. It is for the ownersl |JP 
Commission to say what returns the railroads shall control 
receive, what rates they shall charge, what service they shall 
give, what new lines and terminals they shall build. By this 
latest act regulating railway transportation, the Interstate 
Commerce Commission is entrusted with vast powers and 
responsibilities; and the future of our railroads will depend 
largely upon the way in which that body discharges its trust. 

337 . Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 . One of the most 
important regulations of interstate commerce is the Sher¬ 
man Anti-Trust Law of 1890. This act declares provisions 
illegal every contract, combination in the form ofact 

of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy in restraint of inter¬ 
state or foreign trade. For example, the consolidation of 
competing railway lines through the organization of a cor¬ 
poration to hold and control their stock is an arrangement 
in restraint of interstate trade, and an illegal attempt to 
form a monopoly. Persons found guilty of violating the law 
are liable to fine or imprisonment, at the discretion of the 
court. From 1890 to 1914, the enforcement of this law was 
entrusted to the Attorney-General’s office. There was no 
Commission, as in the case of the railroads, charged with the 
duty of its enforcement. Suit after suit was brought by dif¬ 
ferent Attorneys-General to break up illegal combinations. 
The result often was, that the combinations were dissolved 
only to reappear in different form, pursuing about the same 
methods. By reason of the uncertain and changing policy 
of government in enforcing this law, it proved impossible to 
secure effective regulation of large corporations. 

338 . Recent Laws regulating Corporations, 
ingly, in 1914, Congress supplemented the Sher¬ 
man Anti-Trust Act by two measures: ( 1 ) an act 
creating the Federal Trade Commission; ( 2 ) the 
Clayton Anti-Trust Law. The Federal Trade Commission 


Accord- 

Federal 

Trade 

Commission 


25 4 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


consists of five members, appointed by the President. This 
commission receives reports from all corporations capital¬ 
ized at $5,000,000 or more, except common carriers. In 
general, its aim is to supervise the activities of large corpo¬ 
rations so closely as to prevent unfair competition. When¬ 
ever there is reason to believe that any business is using 
unfair methods of competition, the commission can issue 
a complaint. The offending corporation will then have to 
show that the complaint is unfounded, or the commission 
will issue an order to stop the methods complained of. An 
appeal from this order may be taken to the Circuit Court of 
Appeals. The advantage to business of this method is, that 
the commission may promptly order men to desist from 
unfair practices. The courts, on the other hand, ordinarily 
must wait until the unfair acts are committed, and then punish 
the perpetrators, even though their unfair practices may 
have been committed in innocence of wrong-doing. Thus the 
Federal Trade Commission is a kind of common sense busi¬ 
ness court, with power to regulate interstate corporations 
without too much red tape and delay. Besides its power to 
restrain unfair competition, the commission has charge of 
the work formerly carried on by the Bureau of Corporations. 

The purpose of the Clayton Anti-Trust Law is to check 
monopoly, and tendencies toward monopoly, by specifying 
Clayton ^ ie Particular acts which are in restraint of trade. 
Anti-Trust This law forbids the existence of holding compa¬ 
nies where they restrain commerce or tend to cre¬ 
ate monopoly. “Interlocking” directorates 1 among banks 
with resources of more than $5,000,000 are forbidden. The 
Clayton Law and the Federal Trade Commission, President 
Wilson declared, would give a new liberty of action to 
business men in the United States, and would effectually 
kill monopoly “in the seed.” 


1 “Interlocking” directorates are those in which the same men are placed on the boards 
of directors of different companies for the purpose of securing cooperative action —a practice 
which tends to create monopoly. 


COMMERCIAL FUNCTIONS 


255 


GENERAL REFERENCES 

4 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xix. 

- Readings in American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xix. 

Blaekmar, F. W., Economics (1907), ch. xxxi. 

Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth (1907), n, ch. cm. 

Hart, A. B., Actual Government fl913), ch. xxiv. 

Jenks, J. W., The Trust Problem (1901), ch. xr. 

Johnson, E. R., Elements oj Transportation (1909), chs. xvi—xvm, xxvn. 

McClain, E., Constitutional Law (1905), chs. xiv, xv, xvi. 

Reinsch, P. S., Readings on the American Federal Government (1909), ch. x. 

Smith, R. Mayo, Emigration and Immigration (1890). 

Taussig, F. W., The Tariff History of the United States (1905). 

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. What was the amount of our foreign commerce last year? Did the 
exports exceed the imports? 

2. From which five countries do we buy the most goods? Which five are 
our best customers? 

3. State the principal arguments for and against a ship subsidy. 

4. Prepare a report upon the Panama Canal. Give an account of the 
acquisition of the canal zone and of the benefits of the canal. 

5. What amount did the federal government appropriate last year for 
river and harbor improvements? What part of this was for your State? 
Do inland cities receive any benefit from these improvements? 

6. Name the chief inland centers of commerce in the United States. 
Explain how the commerce and industry of each has been aided: (a) by 
canals; (b) by rivers; (c) by railroads. 

7. Name the articles of commerce which can be readily produced in the 
United States. Those which cannot be easily produced here. Of the 
latter, which ones are on the free list? 

8. Why do business men object to frequent changes in tariff rates? 

9. What is meant by reciprocity treaties? What are the advantages of 
such treaties? What are subsidies? Bounties? 

10. How many immigrants came to the United States last year? How 
many were excluded? 

11. Give arguments for and against an educational test for immigrants, 
such as the ability to read and write their own language. 

12. Name five great railway systems engaged in interstate commerce. 
How are they controlled by the federal government? 

13. May Congress forbid the transportation across State lines of goods 
manufactured by child labor? 

14. In what ways has the federal government aided the construction of 
railroads? 

15. Name five great industrial corporations engaged in interstate com¬ 
merce. Has the federal government any means of controlling them? 

16. Discuss the economic aspects of trusts, and the best methods of regu¬ 
lating them. (Jenks, J. W., The Trust Problem: Kaye, P. L., Readings , 
pp. 492-497; Reinsch, P. S., Readings , pp. 485-507.) 



CHAPTER XXV 

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 


339 . International Law. International law is the body of 

rules concerning mutual rights and duties which civilized 
Definition nations accept as binding in their dealings with 
and one another. These rules are sometimes formally 

enforcement a( j 0 p|- e( j j n treaties or conventions, but more often 

are usages which by general acceptance have become obli¬ 
gations. For this reason international law is lacking in pre¬ 
cision and certainty. It depends for its enforcement chiefly 
upon the spirit of justice and fair dealing among nations, 
and upon the fact that violation of its rules may lead to war. 
But in the United States, as in Great Britain, international 
law is considered a part of the law of the land, Congress 
being expressly empowered to define and punish offenses 
against it. 

International law relates to the mutual rights and duties 
of nations in time of peace as well as war. Thus it includes 
^ such important subjects as emigration, naturaliz¬ 
ation, extradition, representation through diplo¬ 
matic and consular agents, maritime jurisdiction, protec¬ 
tion of citizens and aliens, treaties and conventions of all 
kinds, and arbitration. Within its scope are also included 
such questions as the rights and duties of neutrals in time of 
war, for example, the recognition of belligerent rights, 
rules governing blockades and sieges, privateering, mari¬ 
time captures, mediation and intervention. 

340 . Federal Control of International Affairs. Under 
our constitution, control of international affairs is vested 
exclusively in the federal government, the States being 


INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 


257 


expressly prohibited from participating in this function . 1 
Thus the constitution gives the President and Senate sole 
power to make treaties; grants Congress authority to regu¬ 
late commerce with foreign nations, to punish offenses 
against international law, to declare war, to raise and sup¬ 
port armies, and maintain navies; and finally, it vests in 
the federal courts jurisdiction over all cases involving for¬ 
eign affairs. 

341 . Foreign Intercourse. Intercourse with foreign na¬ 
tions is carried on through two classes of agents belonging 
either to the diplomatic or the consular service. Dlplomatlo 
Broadly speaking, diplomatic agents have charge and consular 
of international affairs of a political nature, while 
consular agents are chiefly concerned with those of a busi¬ 
ness or commercial character . 2 The official head of both 
diplomatic and consular services is the President; but in 
matters of foreign affairs he ordinarily acts through the 
Secretary of State, who personally directs our foreign policy. 

342 . Diplomatic Representatives. The diplomatic rep¬ 
resentatives of the United States are generally of two 
grades or classes: either ambassadors, or envoys 
extraordinary and ministers plenipotentiary. In 

all, the United States has diplomatic representatives in 
forty-seven foreign countries. Representatives of highest 
rank, or ambassadors, are sent to fourteen countries ; 3 
while ministers plenipotentiary represent the United States 
at thirty-three other countries. 

The President appoints diplomatic representatives (sub¬ 
ject to confirmation by the Senate); and he may remove 
them at his discretion. The term of foreign representatives 


1 By express constitutional provision, no State may enter into any treaty, alliance or 
confederation; grant letters of marque or reprisal; or, without the consent of Congress, levy 
any import, export, or tonnage duties; keep troops or ships of war in time of peace; enter 
into any agreement or compact with another State or foreign power; or engage in war un¬ 
less actually invaded or in imminent danger. 

* But the diplomacy of the present century is largely occupied with the extension of trade, 
so that the work of the diplomatic service, as well as that of the consular service, is inti¬ 
mately connected with the advancement of commercial and trade interests. . 

'3 Agentina, Austria, Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, 
Peru, Russia, Spain, Turkey. 


258 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Salary 


Duties 


is not fixed by law, and many changes occur when a new 
Appoint- President assumes office. No constitutional or 
quaiilica- statutory qualifications are prescribed for those 
tions w ho serve in this capacity; but appointees are 

generally men of considerable training in public service. 

The salary of ambassadors is $17,500; ministers pleni¬ 
potentiary receive from $10,000 to $12,000; secretaries of 
legations from $1200 to $3000. These salaries 
are small in comparison with those paid by other 
countries for similar service; and the cost of heading a lega¬ 
tion at the more important capitals is so great that only 
men of independent means can afford to accept the appoint¬ 
ment. 

343 . Duties and Privileges of Diplomatic Representa¬ 
tives. The duties of our representatives in foreign countries 
are in general to safeguard and advance American 
interests in every possible way. They are to cul¬ 
tivate friendly relations with the power to which they are 
accredited; in case an American citizen is unlawfully treated, 
it is for them to seek redress; and not infrequently they are 
called upon to negotiate treaties under the personal direc¬ 
tion of the Secretary of State. 1 

Our representatives abroad are accredited to the rulers 
of the various powers, and foreign representatives in the 
Recognition United States to the President. A government 
and recall ma y re f use to recognize in a diplomatic capacity 
any individual who for special reasons is offensive {persona 
non grata ). In such case a new appointment must be made, 
or as a mark of displeasure the post may be left in charge 
of a subordinate. So, too, any country may demand the 
recall of a minister who has made himself obnoxious to its 
government; or in exceptional cases, may summarily dis¬ 
miss him. 2 

Diplomatic representatives enjoy important privileges 

1 For the treaty-making power, see Section 212. 

2 The most famous instance in our history was the dismissal by President Washington 
of the French agent, Genet. 



(By courtesy of the Review of Reviews Company > 

THE GOVERNOR’S PALACE AT SAN JUAN, PORTO RICO 



ll^cotcr'tesy of the 


news 




INTERNATIONAL BUREAU OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLICS, AT 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 
























Courtesy, Navy Department 

U. S. BATTLESHIP NORTH CAROLINA 





San Francisco' 


Manil: 


TLfTU I L A 


THE UNITED STATES AND ITS POSSESSIONS 
Shown by shading, and by names in heavy type. 


TERRITORIAL GROWTH OF THE UNITED STATES 


Area of the Original Thirteen States 


1789 892,135 

Louisiana Purchase 1803 .... 827,980 

Oregon 1805-1840 . 280,541 

Florida Purchase 1819.72,101 

Texas Annexation 1845 .... 380, 1<;G 

Mexican Cessions 1848-1853 . . 558.800 


Virgin Islands, 1917 


Alaska 18G7 590,884 

Hawaiian Islands 1898 . . . . 6,449 

Porto Rico 1898 . 3*435 

Guam, Wake and Tutuila Islands 

1898-1899 . 287 

Philippine Islands 1898 .... 115,020 
Panama Canal Zone 1904 .... 436 

.150 


Total Area of United States and its Possessions. 3,743 456 

Total Area of Europe . 3,754,282 
































INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 


259 


and immunities, partly owing to the fact that they are the 
direct representatives of sovereign powers, partly Privlleges 
because the important functions which they per- and immu- 
form demand complete independence of action. nities 
The more important of these immunities are: ( 1 ) Exemption 
of the person of the minister from local jurisdiction, civil 
and criminal. In other words, he is not liable to arrest for 
any reason whatever, an exemption shared to a certain 
extent by his family and suite. ( 2 ) Inviolability of his 
residence, papers, and effects from any search or seizure. 

(3) Exemption of his personal belongings from taxation. 

(4) Entire freedom of worship for himself and his suite. 
These privileges result from the principle known to law as 
ex-territoriality; that is to say, by a legal fiction, the min¬ 
ister is supposed to carry with, him the jurisdiction of his 
home government over his person and residence, excluding 
to this extent the foreign jurisdiction. 

344 . Consular Officers and Agents. Consular officers, the 
second chief class of foreign representatives, are charged 
with the special duty of advancing the commer- classes and 
cial interests of the United States. The principal salary 
consular officers are consuls-general, consuls, and commer¬ 
cial agents. Consuls-general are ordinarily sent to foreign 
capitals. Generally they have supervisory authority over 
the consuls in the country to which they are sent, and they 
often serve as consuls in the city where they reside. The 
salaries of consuls range from $2000 to $8000; those of con 
suls-general from $3000 to $12,000. 

Consular officers, like diplomatic representatives, are 
appointed by the President subject to confirmation by the 
Senate . 1 Until recent years, any consular officer Appolnt . 
could be removed by the President at will, and mentand 
appointments were generally given to those who 
had made themselves useful in political campaigns. This 
policy greatly impaired the efficiency of the service; and 

1 Except commercial agents who are appointed by the President alone. 


260 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Immunities 


finally, by executive orders issued in 1906 and 1909, a merit 
system was established for the consular service (also in the 
lower grades of the diplomatic service). Original appoint¬ 
ments are made from persons whose qualifications have been 
tested by a non-competitive examination. Promotions are 
made on the basis of ability and efficiency, as shown in 
lower grades of the service. 

Although consuls are not entitled to the immunities of 
diplomatic representatives, most countries provide by 
treaty that they shall not be subject to arrest in 
civil cases, or to the seizure of their archives. 

345 . Duties of Consuls. The duties of consuls pertain 
chiefly to commerce and trade; for example, they certify 
Misceiiane- invoices of merchandise shipped to the United 
ous duties States; advise the home government of any in¬ 
fraction of treaty regulations; and report periodically upon 
economic conditions in the country where they reside, 
paying especial attention to possible expansion of United 
States commerce. They also aid distressed American sea¬ 
men who are ill or stranded in foreign ports; act as notaries 
for the authentication of various legal documents; certify 
to marriages, births, and deaths among Americans living 
within their respective consular districts; vise and in certain 
cases issue passports; aid in enforcing our immigration laws; 
and in general “stand as protectors and advisers of their 
countrymen in foreign lands.” 

Consuls also perform certain judicial functions. They 
investigate and arbitrate differences between masters and 
Judicial crews which have occurred on American ships 
powers on ^h e high seas; an( i i n a number of countries, 
including Madagascar, China, Siam, and Turkey, our con¬ 
suls have jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases in¬ 
volving American citizens. 


INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 


261 


GENERAL REFERENCES 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xvi. 

- Readings in American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xvi. 

Baldwin, S. E., Modern Political Institutions (1898), chs. xii, xm. 

Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth (1907), ii, chs. xciv, cxn. 

Fairlie John A., The National Administration of the United States (1905), 
pp. 81-91. 

Foster, J. W., A Century of American Diplomacy (1900). 

Hart, A. B., Actual Government (1903), ch. xxm. 

- National Ideals (1907), ch. xvn. 

Henderson, J. B., American Diplomatic Questions (1901). 

Latane, J. H., America as a World Power (1900), ch. vi. 

McClain, E., Constitutional Law (1905), ch. xxm. 

Pomeroy, J. N., Constitutional Law (1888), secs. 669-681. 

Reinsch, P. S., Readings on the American Federal Government (1909), ch. xn. 

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. Prepare a report upon the treaty of alliance with France (1778). 

2. Discuss the Treaty of Paris (1783). 

3. Discuss the origin, applications, and present status of the Monroe 
Doctrine. (Consult Foster, J. W., A Century of American Diplomacy.) 

4. Prepare a report upon the diplomacy of the Civil War. 

5. Discuss the French occupation of Mexico. 

6. Give an account of the Alabama claims. 

7. Report upon the rights and obligations of neutrals in time of war. 

8. Has the Senate the right to be consulted before beginning treaty ne¬ 
gotiations? 

9. Give an account of the proposed arbitration treaty with Great Britain 
in 1897; Why was it rejected by the Senate? 

10. May the House of Representatives refuse appropriations necessary to 
carry out a treaty? 

11. May a treaty be superseded by a statute? A statute by a treaty? 

12. May a State be compelled to observe the provisions of a federal treaty? 

13. Give an account of the annexation of Hawaii. 

14. Name several of our most important treaties, and state what questions 
were decided. 

15. Name some of our greatest diplomatic successes. 

16. Name several of the greatest ambassadors who have represented the 
United States abroad. 

17. Name our present ambassadors to France, Germany, Great Britain, 
and Russia. Name the ambassador sent by each of these countries to 
Washington. Are there any foreign consuls in your city? 

18. Describe the efforts to improve our foreign service through the applica¬ 
tion of civil service rules. (Reinsch, P. S., Readings, pp. 651-675.) 




CHAPTER XXVI 

TERRITORIAL FUNCTIONS 


346 . Territorial Power under the Constitution. For sev¬ 
eral years prior to the adoption of the constitution, the 
Constitu Confederation government had been in possession 
tionai pro- of a vast domain west of the Alleghanies to which 

the individual States had surrendered their claims. 
This condition naturally suggested the provisions of the 
federal constitution relating to territories and the admission 
of new States. Accordingly the constitution vests in Con¬ 
gress power “to dispose of and make all needful rules and 
regulations respecting the territory or other property be¬ 
longing to the United States*’; and under certain limita¬ 
tions, to admit new States to the Union . 1 

The constitution itself is silent in regard to the power to 
Right to acquire new territory; but annexations have been 
acquire made repeatedly throughout our history, until 
to-day this right is as firmly established as though 
expressly granted. 

347 . Expansion of the National Area. Since the origin of 
the federal Union in 1789, the United States has expanded 
its boundaries, and its original area of 892,135 square miles 
has been increased to 3,743,306 square miles at the present 
time. The various annexations by which this enormous 
increase has been made are as follows: — 

( 1 ) In 1803 the vast territory known as Louisiana was 
Louisiana purchased from France for $15,000,000. This 
Purchase territory included all of the western Mississippi 
valley and the isle of Orleans, an imperial area of nearly a 
million square miles. 


1 Constitution, Art. iv. Sec. S. 


TERRITORIAL FUNCTIONS 


263 


Oregon 


Florida 


(2) The second annexation was that of Oregon, the ter¬ 
ritory west of the Rocky Mountains between parallels forty- 
two and forty-nine degrees north latitude. Title 
to this region was by discovery and exploration 
based partly upon the voyage of Captain Gray in 1792, 
but chiefly upon the overland expedition of Lewis and Clark 
in 1805. Our title to Oregon was for a time contested by 
Spain, Russia, and Great Britain; and the latter country 
did not relinquish its claim until 1846, when the treaty was 
signed establishing the present northwestern boundary be¬ 
tween the United States and Canada. 1 

(3) In 1819 Florida was purchased from Spain for 
$5,000,000, thereby giving the United States a 
natural boundary on the southeast. 

(4) In 1845 the independent state of Texas was ad¬ 
mitted to the Union by a joint resolution of 

^ 0 Texas 

Congress. 

(5) In 1848, by the treaty which closed the Mexican 
War, the United States acquired the immense First Mexi- 
area south of Oregon and west of Texas, includ- canoossion 
ing California and what was then called New Mexico. 2 

(6) In 1853 the second Mexican annexation known as 
the Gadsden Purchase added a narrow strip in the Gadsden 
southern parts of Arizona and New Mexico, the Purclias0 
consideration paid Mexico being $10,000,000. 

(7) In 1867 the vast territory of Alaska, comprising 
nearly 600,000 square miles, was purchased from Alagka 
Russia for $7,200,000. 

' (8) The Hawaiian Islands, over which a protectorship 

had virtually existed since 1851, were annexed by 
a joint resolution of Congress in 1898. 

(9) By the treaty which closed the Spanish- 
American War (December, 1898), Spain ceded to 
the United States Porto Rico, Guam, and the 


Hawaii 


Porto Rico, 

Guam, 

Philippines 


1 Hence 1846 is often given as the date of this annexation. 

2 On the map of the United States as it is to-day, this territory includes California, New 
Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and portions of Colorado and Wyoming. 


264 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Philippine Islands, receiving as indemnity the sum of 

$ 20 , 000 , 000 . 

(10) In addition to the foregoing important annexations, 
the United States has acquired title to a number of islands 

Samoan and m ^ nor importance, including a few guano 
minor islands off the coast of South America and in the 

islands Q u if ^ ^Vlexico; also Midway, Baker, and Wake 

islands in the Pacific; and (in 1899) several of the Samoan 
islands, the most important of which is Tutuila. 

( 11 ) For a consideration of $ 10 , 000,000 the Republic of 
panama Panama in 1904 ceded to the United States per- 
Canai Zone p e t U al control of a strip of land extending across 
the Isthmus of Panama, five miles in width on either side 
of the proposed canal route. 

( 12 ) In 1917 the United States purchased the Danish 
West Indies, now called the Virgin Islands, for $25,000,000. 
virgin These three islands were acquired chiefly for 
islands strategic reasons, since they form an important 
link in the chain of defense for the Panama Canal. 

348 . Early History of Northwest Territory. The history 
of the territories belonging to the United States commences 
Western with the vast area north and west of the Ohio 
land claims. River, known as the Northwest Territory. By 
the Treaty of Paris (1783), Great Britain relinquished her 
title to this region; and the question of ownership was 
disputed by Virginia, New York, Massachusetts, and Con¬ 
necticut. 

These claims were viewed with alarm by such States 
as Maryland, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Delaware, 
Establish- themselves so situated that they could not hope 
public 01 ^ to ex P an d in any direction. Maryland took the 
domain lead in suggesting that the western lands be 
formed into a public domain to be held by Congress for the 
common benefit of the States, and steadfastly refused to 
ratify the Articles of Confederation until assurance was 
given that this course would be adopted. Ultimately Con- 


TERRITORIAL FUNCTIONS 


265 


necticut, Virginia, and Massachusetts, following the ex¬ 
ample set by New York in 1780, ceded to the United States 
their claims to the region west of the Alleghany Mountains . 1 

349 . Early Territorial Legislation. By a resolution passed 
in 1780, the Continental Congress had promised that the 
lands ceded by the claimant States should be “ dis- Territorial 
posed of for the common benefit of the United policy 
States, and be settled and formed into distinct republican 
States which shall become members of the federal Union.” 
The two principles set forth in this resolution have ever 
since formed the basis of the territorial and public land 
policy of the United States. 

A few years later Congress voted that a committee should 
be appointed to draw up a plan for the government of its 
newly acquired domain in the west; and accord- ordinance 
ingly Jefferson as chairman reported the plan 011784 
which with some changes was adopted as the “Ordinance 
of 1784.” 

350 . Ordinance of 1787 * A second and more famous 
territorial act, known as the Ordinance of 1787, was adopted 
by Congress on July 13 of that year. As an organic act this 
ordinance is only second in importance to the federal con¬ 
stitution itself, for it established firmly the principles which 
have since formed the basis of our territorial policy. This 
policy has had as its object, first, the establishment in the 
territories of that form of civil government which is best 
adapted to existing needs; and second, the preparation of the 
territories for their future position as States in the Union. 

The ordinance provided for two stages of territorial gov¬ 
ernment. A temporary government was to be first instituted, 
under which laws were to be made by the gover- Territorial 
nor and three judges appointed by Congress. As e° vernment 
soon as there were five thousand free male inhabitants of 
voting age in the territory, this temporary government was 

1 Except the Connecticut Reserve, a strip of land along the southern shores of Lake Erie, 
reserved by Connecticut in aid of education. 


266 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


to be superseded by a more permanent government, repre¬ 
sentative in character. A legislature of two houses was then 
to be created, the upper house consisting of a council of five 
members appointed by Congress; while the lower branch 
was to be chosen for a term of two years by the voters of 
the territory. The legislature thus constituted had power to 
pass any law not repugnant to the principles of the ordi¬ 
nance, subject to the governor’s right of absolute veto. 

351 . Later Territorial Legislation. Since the enactment* 
Number of of the Ordinance of 1787, Congress has passed 
territories many acts providing for territorial government, 
legislation made necessary by the additions to the national 
area. In all, twenty-nine organized territories have been 
created within the boundaries of the United States, while 
three territorial governments have been provided for the 
insular possessions . 1 

Nearly all of these have passed through the two stages 
of territorial government provided for in the Ordinance of 
Stages of 1787. First a provisional government was estab- 
govemment Pshed i n which the people had practically no 
voice; and this was followed as soon as conditions permitted 
by the establishment of representative government. 

352 . Territories and Possessions on the American Con¬ 
tinent. The territories now belonging to the United States 
ciassi- may be divided into two groups: first, the con- 
fication tinental territories; and second, the insular terri¬ 
tories or dependencies. 

The continental territories include Alaska and the Pan- 
Continentai ama Canal Zone. The District of Columbia has 
territories an un usual form of territorial government, spe¬ 
cially devised for the seat of the national government. 

353 . The Government of Alaska. For nearly half a cen¬ 
tury, Alaska remained in the first or provisional stage of 
territorial government; but in 1912, representative govern- 


1 The States which have never been territories of the United States include, besides the 
original thirteen, Maine, Vermont, Kentucky, West Virginia, Texas, and California. 


TERRITORIAL FUNCTIONS 


267 


ment was granted to this territory. The first legislature 
met at Juneau in March, 1913. Eight Senators and sixteen 
Representatives were elected to make laws for this vast but 
sparsely settled country. The executive officers include a 
governor, surveyor-general, district attorney, and judges, 
all appointed by the President. 

354 . The Panama Canal Zone. This latest territorial 
acquisition of the United States is now under a civil gover¬ 
nor, appointed by the President. Until the opening of the 
canal in 1914, the district was governed by the Isthmian 
Canal Commission of seven members, acting under the 
direction of the Department of War. 

355 . Representative Territorial Government. For many 
years prior to their admission to statehood, New Mexico 
and Arizona had representative territorial gov- Executive 
ernments of the type which has been provided oiflcers 
for most of our continental territories . 1 Under this form 
of government, executive power is vested in a governor 
appointed for four years by the President with the consent 
of the Senate. The powers of the territorial governor are 
quite similar to those of the governor of a State, but he is 
directly responsible to the President, to whom he reports 
annually on the condition of affairs in the territory. Other 
administrative officers are the secretary, treasurer, auditor, 
and superintendent of public instruction. 

The territorial legislature consists of two houses, an up¬ 
per house or council, and a house of representatives. Mem¬ 
bers of both branches are chosen for a term of two Territorial 
years by the qualified voters of the territory. The legislature 
organization, procedure, and powers of the legislature are 
carefully regulated by federal statute, and are substantially 
the same as those of the legislatures of the several States. 
However, acts of the territorial legislature, besides being 
subject to the veto power of the governor, are liable to be 
annulled by Congress. 

* New Mexico was organized as a territory in 1850; Arizona in 1863. 


268 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Judicial power is vested in a supreme and several dis- 
The trict courts, the judges of which are appointed by 

judiciary the president. The territorial legislature has 
power to establish such inferior courts as are found neces¬ 
sary. 

Each territory sends to the House of Representatives a 
Territorial delegate, who has the salary and other privileges 
delegate G f a mem ber, except the right to vote. 

Thus the framework of government in the territories 
approximates closely to that which exists in the States, the 
_ , essential distinction being the subordinate posi- 

with state tion which the territory occupies in relation to the 
government jj n i 0 n. National control is at all times para¬ 
mount, and is exercised through acts of Congress modifying 
the status of the territory, or, in exceptional cases, directly 
annulling the acts of its legislature. Furthermore, federal 
administrative control is secured through the President’s 
power to appoint and remove the principal territorial officers. 

356 . The District of Columbia. Among the powers which 
the constitution confers upon Congress is the right “to 
exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatso¬ 
ever over such district (not exceeding ten miles 
square) as may, by cession of particular States and the 
acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government 
of the United States.’’ 1 In 1790 the States of Maryland 
and Virginia ceded to the United States a district ten miles 
square lying upon the banks of the Potomac; but the part 
upon the south bank was retroceded to Virginia in 1846, 
reducing the district to its present area of about seventy 
square miles. 

The government of the District differs radically from that 
which prevails in other territories, since the residents are 
Present completely disfranchised. They have no vote in 
government the election of either local or national officials nor 
are they represented in Congress by a delegate. Congress 


Creation 


1 Constitution, Art. i, Sec. 8, Par. 17. 


TERRITORIAL FUNCTIONS 


269 


itself acts as the local legislature for the District, setting 
aside certain days each month for the consideration of its 
affairs. 

Administrative powers are vested in a board of three com¬ 
missioners appointed by the President with the consent of 
the Senate. One of the members is an experienced Board 
officer of the Engineer Corps of the army, detailed commis- 
for an indefinite term; the other two are civilians, sloners 
appointed for a term of three years. This board has large 
administrative powers, as well as the power of making local 
ordinances. 

On the whole, this plan of government, non-representa¬ 
tive as it is, has worked admirably. The affairs of success of 
the District have been managed efficiently, and present plan 
Washington is conceded to be one of the best-governed 
cities in the world. 


357 . Other National Property. More than two thirds 
of the present area of the United States has at one time 
or another formed a part of the public domain The public 
belonging to the national government. The domain 
greater part has been disposed of in various ways, chiefly 
by sale at a nominal price to individual settlers, of* as boun¬ 
ties for military or naval service, or as grants to promote 
the construction of railroads, or in aid of education and in¬ 
ternal improvements. 

Congress has the exclusive right of legislation “over all 
places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the 
State in which the same shall be, for the erection Milltaryand 
of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and administra- 
other needful buildings.” 1 Under this provision tlvesites 
the federal government has acquired many sites for navy- 
yards, arsenals, military posts, lighthouses, post offices, 
customs houses, and other public buildings. Land to be 
used in this way is obtained by cession from the State legisla¬ 
ture, and is thereafter exempt from State or local taxation. 


1 Constitution, Art. i, Sec. 8, Par. 17. 


270 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Under its constitutional power to regulate commerce 
Indian with the Indian tribes, the federal government 
reservations a } so exercises special jurisdiction over numerous 
reservations scattered throughout the West. 

358 . Insular Territories or Dependencies. The insular 
dependencies of the United States include Hawaii, annexed 
in 1898; Porto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam, acquired 
in 1899 as a result of the war with Spain; a few islands of 
the Samoan group acquired by treaty in 1900; three small 
Pacific islands — Wake, Midway, and Baker, claimed by 
right of discovery since 1898; and the Virgin Islands, pur¬ 
chased from Denmark in 1917. 

Of these dependencies, Hawaii, Porto Rico, and the Phil¬ 
ippines possess representative territorial governments quite 
similar to the plan under which most of our States were gov¬ 
erned before they were admitted to the Union. Such minor 
dependencies as Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the Samoan 
Islands are under the control of the naval officers in command 
of the naval stations; while Midway, Baker, and Wake Is¬ 
lands require no government, being practically uninhabited. 

359 . Hawaii. Hawaii is governed by an act of Congress 
passed in 1900. This act confers citizenship in the United 
States upon the citizens of Hawaii. The President appoints 
the governor; and this officer, with the consent of the terri¬ 
torial Senate, appoints the chief executive officials. 

360 . Government of Porto Rico. Porto Rico was gov¬ 
erned by the War Department from its occupation by 
General Miles in 1898 until the establishment of a civil 
government by an act of Congress passed in 1900. This act 
continued in force until 1917, when a new law was passed 
for the government of the island. The Porto Ricans were 
then made citizens of the United States, and were granted 
a larger share in their own government. 

Executive power is vested in a governor, appointed by 
the President, and in seven administrative officers. Two 
of these administrative officers are appointed by the Presi- 


TERRITORIAL FUNCTIONS 


271 


dent, the others by the governor of the territory. The 
legislature consists of two houses, a Senate and „ 

. Executive 

a House of Delegates, the members being elected and legis- 
by popular vote. Representation at Washington lature 
is secured through the election by the qualified voters of 
a commissioner, chosen for a term of two years. 

361 . The Philippine Islands. The problem of establishin t 

a suitable government for the Philippines has proved a diffi¬ 
cult one, because these islands are inhabited by . . 

races of almost every stage of development from problem of 
savagery to civilization. The present government g0 ^ eriiment 
is in accordance with an act passed by Congress in 1916, and 
consists of a central government over the entire archipelago, 
with subordinate provincial and municipal governments. 

The executive department consists of the Governor 
General, the Vice Governor, the heads of the executive de¬ 
partments, and an auditor. The Governor and Executive 
Vice Governor are appointed by the President andiegisia- 
with the consent of the Senate, while the heads of ture 
the executive departments are appointed by the Governor 
General. The legislature consists of two houses, a Senate of 
twenty-four members and a House of Representatives of 
ninety members. As a rule, members of both houses are 
elected by a restricted suffrage; but two senators and nine 
representatives are appointed by the Governor General to 
represent the non-Christian tribes of the islands. 

362 . Admission of New States. Territories are virtually 
inchoate or rudimentary States; and to prepare them for 
statehood as soon as their population and cir- conditions 
cumstances warrant has been the prime object ofa d misslol i 
of our territorial policy. Under the constitution, Congress is 
vested with power to admit new States into the Union; and 
it is for Congress to determine upon what conditions this 
action will be taken. Thus the new State may be required 
to accept certain boundaries, or to incorporate into its con¬ 
stitution certain fundamental provisions respecting religious 




GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Population 


freedom, and the like; and in all cases the government pro¬ 
vided by its constitution must be republican in form. 

A population at least equal to that of an average con¬ 
gressional district has usually been a prerequisite to ad¬ 
mission, but the practice has not been uniform. 
Nevada with a population of 20,000 was admitted 
in order to obtain the vote of that State for the thirteenth 
amendment. On the other hand, Utah with a considerable 
population was long denied statehood because of the insti¬ 
tution of polygamy; and New Mexico and Arizona were re¬ 
fused admission for many years on the ground that their 
population, including many persons of Mexican blood, was 
not prepared for self-government. 

Practically the only limitation upon the power of Con¬ 
gress in forming States is that the new commonwealth must 
state not no t ^ nc ^ uc ^ e territory lying within the boundaries 
to ne sub- of a State already admitted, without the consent 
divided Q f the legislature of the State concerned. By 

express constitutional provision, territory cannot be taken 
from or added to any State without the consent of the States 
concerned, as well as of Congress. 1 

In admitting new States to the Union, two different 
methods have been followed. Frequently Congress has 

Methods of P asse d an enabling act authorizing the people of 
admitting the territory to frame a constitution and apply 
for admission. In other cases, the citizens of the 
territory, acting on their own initiative, have called a con¬ 
vention and framed a constitution, which, after ratification 
by the voters, has been submitted to Congress for approval. 
Either of these methods of procedure is merely a prelimi¬ 
nary step, the final decision as to admission resting entirely 
with Congress. 


1 The only case in our history of the subdivision of a State without its consent was that 
of West Virginia, which separated from the Old Dominion in 1861 in consequence of the 
ordinance of secession adopted by the State convention at Richmond. That part of the 
State west of the Alleghanies thereupon formed a separate government, and was admitted 
to the Union by Congress in 1862. Later Virginia acknowledged the validity of the creation 
of the new State. 


TERRITORIAL FUNCTIONS 


273 


363. Position of States in the Union. Although a new 
State can only be admitted upon such terms as Congress 
may prescribe, once in the Union it is on an equal PosItlon 

footing with other States in all respects; and alter 

i* . , 1 • i , <» .1 • , admission 

according to the weight or authority, may even 

amend its constitution regardless of conditions which have 
been imposed by Congress. Moreover, once in the Union 
a State cannot under any circumstances withdraw or se¬ 
cede, the Civil War having forever settled the principle that 
this is “an indestructible Union of indestructible States.” 

Immediately after the Civil War, the question arose as 
to the status of the eleven States which had passed ordi¬ 
nances of secession. Widely divergent views were _ 

S6C6SS10H 

held by President Johnson and Congress; but the andrecon- 
congressional theory finally prevailed. This held struction 
that although the Southern States had never been out of the 
Union, their rebellion had forfeited their rights as States, 
and practically reduced them to the condition of conquered 
territory. Hence it was for Congress to determine how long 
this status should continue, as well as the conditions upon 
which the former States might be “reconstructed,” and 
restored to their former privileges as commonwealths. 


GENERAL REFERENCES 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xxi. 

- Readings in American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xxi. 

Bryce, James, American Commonwealth (1907), 1, ch. xlvii. 

Hart, A. B., Actual Government (1903), chs. xviii-xx. 

Hinsdale, R. A., The Old Northwest (1888), chs. x. xiv. 

McClain, E., Constitutional Law (1905), pp. 262-267. 

Munro, William B., The Government of the United States (1920), pp. 372-388. 
Keinsch, F. S., Colonial Government (,1902), part vn. 

Willoughby, W. F., Territories and Dependencies of the United States (1905). 
Woodburn, J. A., The American Republic (1908), ch. vm. 


QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. Prepare a report upon the territorial growth of the United States. 

2. On an outline map of the United States mark off with different colors 
the various territorial annexations. 



GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


274 


3. Describe the territorial policy of the United States. Discuss some of 
the problems arising from the annexation of the Philippines. 

4. Discuss the influence of the Ordinance of 1787: (a) upon local self- 
government; (b) upon slavery; (c) upon education. 

5. Discuss the method of admitting a State into the Union. 

6. Give an account of the Louisiana Purchase. What States were formed 
out of this territory? 

7. What States, besides the original thirteen, have never been national 
territories? 

8. Bound your State. Has it ever been part of, or has it ever included 
another State? 

9. How did your State receive its name? Its nickname? 

10. When was your State admitted to the Union? Describe its territorial 
government prior to admission. How long was it an organized terri¬ 
tory? Give a history of the steps by which admission was secured. 

11. W 7 hy was the capital of the United States placed under the exclusive 
control of Congress? Why was the present form of government estab¬ 
lished for the District? What political rights are denied to residents 
of the District? 

12. Describe the city of Washington — street plan, principal public build¬ 
ings and places of interest, monuments, and surroundings. 

13. Name any public buildings, forts, or reservations in your community 
which belong to the federal government. 

14. Do the provisions of the constitution extend to the territories? 

15. What degree of local self-government has been granted to our insular 
possessions? Why are not the same political rights accorded to them 
as to continental territories? 

16. Is there any likelihood that our insular possessions will ever be ad¬ 
mitted as States? 

17. Under the provisions of the constitution, could Texas be divided into 
four States? Could Indiana and Illinois be united into a single State? 


CHAPTER XXVII 


MILITARY POWERS 


364. War Powers of the Federal Government. The con¬ 
stitution entrusts the war power to the federal government, 
the States being absolutely prohibited from keep- 

mg troops or ships or war m time 01 peace, or from powers of 
engaging in war unless actually invaded or in Congres3 
imminent danger. The military powers vested in Congress 
by the constitution include the right (1) to declare war; 
( 2 ) to grant letters of marque and reprisal; ( 3 ) to make rules 
concerning captures on land and water; ( 4 ) to raise and 
support armies, ( 5 ) to provide and maintain a navy; (6) to 
make rules for the government and regulation of the land 
and naval forces; and ( 7 ) to organize, arm, and discipline 
the militia. 1 

Important military powers are also entrusted to the 
President, since he is commander-in-chief of both _ .. 

army and navy, has power to call out the militia military 
under certain conditions, and may make treaties autiorlt7 
with the advice and consent of the Senate. 

365. The Declaration of War. A formal declaration of 
war is sometimes made at the outbreak of hostilities be¬ 
tween two countries, this declaration serving as a object and 
public notice of the existence of war, and imposing ellect 
upon other nations the obligations of neutrality. The 
declaration is usually preceded by the dismissal of the re¬ 
spective ambassadors, thus severing diplomatic intercourse 
between the two countries. The right to declare war neces¬ 
sarily includes the power to wage war by every means 
known to any nation, subject only to the limitations pre¬ 
scribed by international law. 

* Constitution, Art. i, Sec. 8, Para. 11-16. 


276 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


366. Letters of Marque and Reprisal. Letters of marque 
and reprisal are commissions authorizing “persons who are 
not in the regular service of the country to exercise the 
public power of warring upon and capturing vessels of the 
enemy upon the high seas.” In other words, such letters 
are commissions which license privateering. Most of the 
great powers except the United States have subscribed to 
the Declaration of Paris ( 1856 ), abolishing privateering 
as a means of waging war. Privateering was extensively 
used in the War of 1812 against Great Britain, but no pri¬ 
vateers were licensed during the Spanish-American War. 

367. Captures on Land and Water. The power to make 
rules concerning captures on land and water authorizes 
Prize regu- Congress to regulate the disposition of all property 
lations and captured in time of war. Such captures may con¬ 
sist either of the persons or property of the enemy, 

or of neutral ships or goods taken while violating the rules 
of war; e.g., when neutral ships attempt to enter a port 
declared by one of the belligerents to be in a state of block¬ 
ade. In the exercise of its authority concerning captures, 
Congress has enacted a complete code of prize regulations, 
and has established a system of prize courts. Congress 
may also enact temporary regulations for the government 
of territory of the enemy occupied by the forces of the 
United States, such territory being subject to final disposal 
through the treaty-making power vested in the President 
and Senate. 

368. Power to raise and support Armies. The consti¬ 
tution vests in Congress power “to raise and support 
Limitation armies,” subject to the provision that “no appro- 
upon power p r i a tion of money to that use shall be for a longer 
term than two years.” This limitation was designed as a 
check upon possible abuse of power by the President as 
commander-in-chief. Since army appropriations must be 
made every two years, the military branch of the govern¬ 
ment is completely dependent upon the will of Congress. 


MILITARY POWERS 


277 


The right to raise armies authorizes Congress to employ 
all means by which troops may be raised, even including 
a conscription or draft. “Supporting” armies Extent of 
and “maintaining” navies includes not only pro- power 
vision for food, clothing, transportation, equipment, and 
medical care of troops; but also authorizes the construction 
of forts, coast defenses, barracks, arsenals, depots, coaling 
and naval stations and yards. In fact, this clause empowers 
the federal government to employ all necessary and proper 
means which will further the country’s defense — it may 
manufacture arms and ammunition, build ships, educate 
officers in military and naval science, organize war and navy 
departments, provide for the payment of bounties and pen¬ 
sions, and perhaps may even construct railways as a means 
of facilitating the transportation of troops and materiel of 
war. 

Throughout our history the standing army has been 
small except during actual war. Until 1898 the army on a 
peace footing numbered less than 27,000 men; Thestand- 
but in 1901, shortly after the war with Spain, the 
President was authorized to increase the army at 
his discretion to a maximum of 100,000 men. In 1916, Con¬ 
gress passed the Army Reorganization Act, which increased 
the size of the standing army to a theoretical strength of 
about 250,000 men. 

In time of peace the army is recruited out of volunteers 
between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five who succeed 
in passing a rigid physical examination. The pay pay anfl 
of private soldiers is small — from fifteen to duties oi 
eighteen dollars a month, besides barracks and tr °° P3 
food. The ordinary peace duty of the army is to garrison 
military posts and stations, protect government property, 
and serve as a reserve force in case of disturbances with 
which State authority cannot cope. 

In time of war, troops may be raised in three ways. 
(1) By enrollment of volunteers, as in time of peace. (2) The 


278 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


President may call upon the States to furnish troops, under 
his power to call out the militia. (3) By conscription or 
_ ... draft, that is, the selection of men by lot for 

Recruiting _ " 

in time oi compulsory military service. The first two 
methods have been employed in nearly all of our 
wars; drafting was resorted to during the Civil War, and 
during the World War. 

369 . Officers of the Army. The President is commander- 

in-chief of the army; and under him as acting head of the 
Grades oi administration is the Secretary of War. The 
officers grades of officers are general and lieutenant- 

general (titles given as honorary distinction in recognition 
of signal services); major-general, brigadier-general, colonel, 
lieutenant-colonel, major, captain, first and second lieuten¬ 
ant. The salaries of officers range from $8000 for major- 
general down to $1700 for second lieutenant, with fixed in¬ 
creases after a certain length of service. 

Officers are appointed by the President subject to confir¬ 
mation by the Senate. Most of the higher officers are grad¬ 
uates of West Point; but in some cases they are 
appointed directly from civil life, and not infre¬ 
quently men from the ranks are promoted to com¬ 
mands. Neither army nor naval officers may be removed 
in time of peace except by court-martial; but in time of war 
the President may remove summarily. Provision is made 
by law for the compulsory retirement of officers who have 
reached the age of sixty-four, and for their voluntary retire¬ 
ment after forty years of service. Retired officers receive 
for the remainder of their lives three fourths of the pay of 
their rank at retirement. 

370 , Education of Officers. The necessity of professional 
training for military officers was realized at an early date, 

and in 1802 Congress authorized the establish¬ 
ment at West Point, New York, of the Academy 
which has since become one of the famous military schools 
of the world. 


Appoint¬ 
ment and 
retirement 


West Point 


MILITARY POWERS 


279 


Under the present plan, each Senator, each congressional 
district, and each territory is entitled to one cadet at West 
Point, appointed by the Secretary of War upon AppoInt 
the nomination of the Senator or Representa- mentof 
tive concerned. In addition, forty cadets are ap- cadets 
pointed at large by the President, these appointments being 
commonly given to the sons of army or naval officers. Ap¬ 
pointees must be between the ages of seventeen and twenty- 
two years, and must pass a thorough physical and mental 
examination, the latter including the common branches, 
also the subjects usually given in the first two years of the 
high-school course. 

The course of instruction requires four years, and is 
chiefly mathematical and professional. Each cadet is paid 
by the government $700 per year, a sum about course of 
sufficient for his support. Only one leave of ab- instnicti011 - 
sence is allowed during the four years, and this is granted 
at the end of the second year. Academic duties continue 
from September 1 to June 1 , the intervening months being 
spent in camp, where practical military training is given. 
Upon graduation cadets are commissioned as second lieu¬ 
tenants in the United States Army. 

Besides the Academy at West Point, the United States 
maintains several schools for more advanced military train¬ 
ing. These include the War College, the Engineer other 
School, and the Army Medical School, at Wash- military 
ington, D.C.; the Army Service Schools at Fort sch00ls 
Leavenworth, and the Mounted Service School at Fort 
Riley, Kansas; the Field Artillery School at Fort Sill, 
Oklahoma; the Coast Artillery School at Fortress Monroe, 
Virginia. There are also garrison schools at each military 
post for the instruction of officers, and schools for enlisted 
men, who are instructed both in the common branches and 
in military subjects. Valuable military training is also 
given in the State universities and agricultural colleges. 

371 . Militia. On account of the traditional distrust of a 


280 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


standing army, the United States has always relied largely 
for its defense upon the militia, or citizen soldiery. This re¬ 
liance has proved a vain one in every war in which the 
United States has been engaged. Our history proves con¬ 
clusively that only national troops under exclusive national 
discipline and control are adequate for national defense. 
Ignoring the lesson of history, the Army Reorganization 
Act of 1916 placed its reliance for second-line defense upon 
the old militia system, revamped so as to provide for a 
larger degree of federal control. 

Our national constitution provides that the President may 
call out the militia for three purposes, namely: to execute 

Delects oi the ^ aws Union, suppress insurrection, and 

militia repel invasion. Under this clause the President 
system had no authority to send the militia outside the 
borders of the United States. The new militia act removed 
this restriction, authorizing the President to draft the State 
militiamen into the national service whenever Congress de¬ 
clares this necessary. National guardsmen enlist for six years, 
three in the active organization, and three in the reserve. 

The inherent weakness of the militia system is that, like 
anything short of universal training, it distributes the mili¬ 
tary burden unequally; and it always breaks down in prac¬ 
tice. 

On four occasions — the Whiskey Rebellion (1794), 
the War of 1812, the Civil War, and the World War, — 
the militia were called out by the President. In 
the Civil War, President Lincoln issued three 
calls for the militia as such, to the aggregate number of 
475,000 men. 

372 . The Navy. Notwithstanding its splendid services 
in the War of 1812, and in the earlier struggle with the 
History Barbary pirates (1801-1805), the American navy 
oinavy remained small and neglected throughout the 
greater part of our history. Finally in 1882 came a change 
in policy, and in the following year many new vessels of the 


Federal 

service 


MILITARY POWERS 


281 


most approved type were constructed. The wisdom of main¬ 
taining an adequate navy was proved in the war with Spain, 
when the new navy first demonstrated its efficiency as a 
fighting force. Since that war the program of expansion 
has continued, until to-day the American navy ranks with 
the most powerful navies in the world. 

373 . Education of Officers. The naval school correspond¬ 
ing to West Point is the United States Naval Academy at 
Annapolis, established in 1845. At present two United 
midshipmen are allowed for each Senator, Repre- states Naval 
sentative, and delegate in Congress, two for the Aoademy 
District of Columbia, and fifteen each year from the enlisted 
personnel of the navy. These are appointed by the Secre¬ 
tary of the Navy upon the nomination of the individual 
Senators, Representatives, or delegates. In addition, the 
President appoints one midshipman from Porto Rico, and 
ten at large from the United States. Candidates for appoint¬ 
ment must be between sixteen and twenty years of age, and 
must pass entrance examinations similar to those required 
at West Point. 

The six-year course of instruction corresponds in many 
respects to that given in advanced technical schools. The 
last two years of the course are spent at sea, after which 
come the final examinations. There are annual practice 
cruises from June 1 to September 1 . Midshipmen are paid 
$600 annually from the date of admission, and upon gradu¬ 
ation receive commissions as lieutenants of junior grade. 

Advanced naval instruction is given in the Naval War 
College at Newport, Rhode Island, where officers are in¬ 
structed in special branches, and plans prepared other naval 
for naval operations. Other schools are the Naval sch00ls 
Torpedo School at Goat Island, the several apprentice 
training schools for enlisted men, and the gunnery training 
schools for both officers and men. 

374 . Rules for the Government of Land and Naval 
Forces. The power “to make rules for the government 


282 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Early 

pension 

legislation 


and regulation of the land and naval forces” is necessarily 
Military included in the power to declare war, and to 
law raise and maintain armies and navies. At an 

early date, Congress adopted rules and articles for the gov¬ 
ernment of the army and navy, thus establishing a code of 
military law for the government of land and naval forces. 
Petty offenses in both army and navy may be punished 
by the commanding officer; while more serious offenses are 
tried by court-martial. 

375 . Military Pensions. The pension system of the 
United States dates from the Revolutionary War, at which 
time the Continental Congress promised pensions 
for soldiers who should be disabled, and for the 
families of those who perished in the struggle. 
This promise was carried out in 1792 by the enactment of 
a general pension law; and since that time the United States 
has provided more generously for those who have fought for 
its flag than any other nation in the world. In addition to 
a disability pension, the soldiers of the Revolutionary War, 
of the War of 1812, and of the Mexican and Indian wars, 
were given grants of public lands amounting in effect to a 
service pension. 

Down to the Civil War, expenditures for pensions did not 
exceed $3,000,000 per year, and at the beginning of that 
civil war struggle there were only 8636 pensioners on the 
pensions rolls. Early in the Civil War, Congress pledged 
the public faith that those who were disabled in that terrible 
conflict, and also the families of those who were killed, 
should be provided for by the government. Accordingly, by 
the act of 1862, pensions were granted to disabled soldiers, 
and also to the widows of those who had fallen. Under this 
law, expenditures for pensions increased rapidly, but in 
no year before 1890 did the amount reach $100,000,000. 
In that year an act was passed which greatly broadened 
the scope of the system by granting pensions to all persons 
who, having served in the Civil War, had become for any 


MILITARY POWERS 


283 


reason unable to earn a livelihood. This act has very greatly 
increased pension expenditures, the annual amount of which 
has not been less than $138,000,000 in any year since 1892. 
The last act for the benefit of Civil War veterans (passed 
in 1907) provides a service pension for all who served in the 
war, regardless of disability. At present there are about 
900,000 pensioners on the rolls. 

Since the establishment of the national government in 
1789, the total cost to the United States for pensions is 
estimated by the Commissioner of Pensions to costoi 
exceed four billion dollars. Over ninety per cent system 
of this enormous sum resulted from the Civil War, the total 
expenditure for Civil War pensions having now exceeded 
the original cost to the federal government of the war itself. 
At the present time the annual military expenditures of the 
federal government — including the cost of the army and 
navy and of pensions — comprise about seventy per cent 
of the net ordinary expenses of government. 

A better plan was worked out when the United States 
entered the great World War, by which the government 

provided insurance for men in the army and i nsur ance 
navv. A Bureau of War Risk Insurance in the for solders 
Treasury Department insured the men at rates 
about equal to what they would pay in time of peace. The 
government also made a family allowance for each man who 
had a wife or children dependent upon him, and provided a 
fixed compensation in case of his death or disability result¬ 
ing from service. 


GENERAL REFERENCES 

Ashley, R. L., The American Federal State (1903), secs. 304-307. 
Beard/c. A., American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xvii. 

Readings in American Government and Politics (1910), ch. xvii. 
Black, H. C., American Constitutional Law (1897), pp. 220-224. 

Fairlie, J. A., The National Administration of the United States (1905), 

chs. ix, x. . , 

Harrison, B., This Country of Ours (1903), chs. xiil, xvi. 

Hart, A. B.. Actual Government (1903), ch. xxv. 



284 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 

McClain, E., Constitutional Law in the United States (1905), ch. xvn. 
Pomeroy, J. N., Constitutional Law of the United States (1888), secs. 441-* 

482. . . . , 

Reinsch, P. S., Readings on the American Federal Government (1909), ch. xi. 
Tucker, John R., The Constitution of the United States (1899), pp. 576-597. 
Upton, Emory, The Military Policy of the United States (1904). 


QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. Name the causes, principal battles, and results of each of the five great 
wars which the United States has waged. 

2. Name several restrictions imposed by international law upon methods 
of warfare. 

3. What are the rights and duties of neutrals with regard to belligerent 
powers? 

4. Prepare a report upon the President’s military powers in time of war. 

5. What is martial law? May a civilian be court-martialed? 

6. May the property of individuals be confiscated as a war measure? 

7. Have our recent territorial acquisitions involved any change in our 
historic military policy? 

8. What is the present strength of our standing army? Into what de¬ 
partments is it organized? Who is the commanding general? 

9. What was the amount of last year’s appropriation for the army? For 
the navy? For coast defense? For pensions? Do you consider the total 
appropriation for military purposes excessive? 

10. Assuming that preparation for war is a necessity, which should receive 
most attention, the army, navy, or coast defense? 

11. Describe the principal defenses of the Pacific coast; of the Atlantic 
coast. 

12. Give an account of the United States Military Academy; of the United 
States Naval Academy. 

13. Give an account of the achievements of our navy in the Spanish- 
American War. 

14. Compare our navy with that of Great Britain, Germany, France, and 
Japan. 

15. Give an account of recent pension legislation. 

16. Suggested readings upon the army and navy: Reinsch, P. S., Readings, 
pp. 610-650. 


CHAPTER XXVIII 


MISCELLANEOUS POWERS 

376 . Control of Naturalization. Under the constitution, 
Congress has exclusive power to establish a uniform rule on 
the subject of naturalization; or in other words, Aliens and 
to determine the conditions upon which aliens may cltizens 
become citizens. An alien is a person who by reason of his 
foreign birth is not entitled to the privileges of American 
citizenship. Citizens are of two classes — native-born and 
naturalized. In general, all persons born within the United 
States, as well as the children born abroad of American 
parents, are native-born citizens. Naturalized citizens are 
aliens who have attained citizenship through the process 
of naturalization. 

377 . Process of Naturalization. The method of natural¬ 
ization prescribed by Congress requires a minimum resi¬ 
dence in this country of five years. At least two Declaration 
years before his final admission, the alien must 
declare on oath that it is his intention to become a citizen 
of the United States, and to renounce forever his allegiance 
to the foreign country of which he is a subject or citizen. 
This declaration is made before a circuit or district court of 
the United States, or before a court of record of the State in 
which the applicant resides. The declaration of intention 
sets forth the applicant’s name, age, occupation, personal 
description, place of birth, last foreign residence and alle¬ 
giance, date of arrival in the United States, and present 
residence. The declaration is recorded and a certified copy 
furnished the applicant, who is then said to have taken out 
his first papers, or to have made his declaration. 

Not less than two nor later than seven years from the 


286 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


declaration of intention, the applicant may present to the 
Final court a petition signed in his own writing and duly 
admission verified, requesting admission to full citizenship. 
This sets forth the fact that the petitioner has been a resi¬ 
dent of the United States at least five years continuously, 
and of the State or district where the court is held at least 
one year; that he is not opposed to organized government, 
and is not a believer in polygamy; and that he absolutely 
and forever renounces all allegiance to the foreign country 
of which he has been a citizen. Finally, the applicant must 
declare on oath in open court that he will support the con¬ 
stitution of the United States. Two witnesses must testify 
to his term of residence; and if it appears to the satisfac¬ 
tion of the court that during that time he has conducted 
himself properly, he may be admitted to citizenship . 1 The 
naturalization of an alien includes his wife and minor chil¬ 
dren residing in this country. 

378 . Naturalization of Communities. When foreign ter¬ 
ritory is annexed to the United States, Congress may pass 
a general act conferring citizenship upon the inhabitants 
of such territory. This was done upon the annexation of 
Texas, New Mexico, and California, and shortly after the 
annexation of Hawaii . 2 The inhabitants of Porto Rico and 
the Philippines are entitled to the protection of the United 
States, but Congress has not yet conferred upon them the 
privilege of citizenship. 

379 . Effects of Naturalization. The result of naturaliza¬ 
tion is to confer practically all the privileges of native-born 
Privileges o! citizens, except that of eligibility to the Presi- 
citizenship dency or Vice-Presidency . 3 Naturalized citizens 
become citizens of the State or territory in which they re- 

1 The privilege of naturalization is not accorded to aliens of all races, but is limited to 
"aliens being free white persons, and to aliens of African nativity and persons of African 
descent.” The naturalization of Chinese is expressly prohibited by act of Congress; nor may 
citizenship be conferred upon aliens who cannot speak English. 

2 Another instance of collective naturalization was that which resulted from the adoption 
of the fourteenth amendment. 

3 At least seven years of citizenship is required in order to be eligible to the House of 
Representatives, and nine years for the Senate. 


MISCELLANEOUS POWERS 


287 


side, as well as of the United States. Naturalization does 
not of itself confer the right of suffrage, since the right to 
vote conies from the State, and the qualifications for suf¬ 
frage are determined by State laws. But most States confer 
the right to vote upon all citizens of the United States who 
have resided within the commonwealth for one year; and 
eleven States even permit aliens to vote, provided they 
have declared their intention of becoming citizens. 

380 . Power over Bankruptcy. A bankruptcy law is one 
which provides for the equitable division among his cred¬ 
itors of the property of an insolvent debtor, where- Bankruptcy 
upon the latter is discharged from legal liability laws 

for the remainder of his debts. The object of a bankruptcy 
law is to afford relief to the debtor who is hopelessly insol¬ 
vent, while also securing to each creditor payment of a pro¬ 
portionate share of his claim. 

The constitution vests in Congress power to establish 
uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcy throughout the 
United States. If Congress does not exercise this Federal 
power, the States may pass laws dealing with the and state 
subject; but when Congress passes a national leglslation 
bankruptcy act, State bankruptcy laws are thereby sus¬ 
pended, the federal law operating throughout the entire 
Union. 

On four occasions in our history, Congress has exercised 
this power, but most of the federal bankruptcy Fe(ieral 
laws have been of brief duration. Thus the bank- bankruptcy 

lflWS 

ruptcy act of 1800 was repealed in 1803; that of 

1841 in 1843; that of 1867 in 1878; while the law passed in 

1898 remains in force. 

381 . Power over Copyrights. In order to promote the 
progress of science and the useful arts, the constitution vests 
in Congress the power to enact copyright laws, copyright 
whereby the works of authors may be protected. laws 

A copyright law is one which secures to an author the ex¬ 
clusive right to print, publish, and sell his writings, and 


288 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Applications 


generally the exclusive right to dramatize them. The pres- 
ent law grants a copyright for a term of twenty-eight years, 
and provides for a renewal by the author (or the widow, 
widower, or children of the author, or next of kin) for the 
further term of twenty-eight years. 

382 . Patents. Congress has authorized the granting of 
patents securing to inventors for a limited period the ex- 
what may elusive right to make, manufacture, and sell their 
bo patented inventions. Patents may be granted to any per¬ 
son who has invented or discovered any new or useful art, 
machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new 
and useful improvement thereof; or any new or original de¬ 
sign for an article or manufacture. Patents are valid for a 
period of seventeen years. 

Patents are issued through the Patent Office, a bureau 
of the Department of the Interior since 1849. Applications 
must be made in writing to the commissioner of 
patents, the applicant being required to state 
under oath that he believes himself to be the original inven¬ 
tor of the article upon which he seeks a patent. The appli¬ 
cation must be accompanied by a written description of the 
invention, giving all the specifications in a full, clear, and 
concise manner. The description is generally accompanied 
by drawings, and if necessary the inventor may be required 
to furnish a model. 

The Patent Office with its collection of valuable models is 
one of the most interesting of the government bureaus. The 
office performs an economic service of the highest 
importance in encouraging invention; and it is 
estimated that one third of the world’s important 
inventions originate in the United States. Since 1837 one 
million patents have been issued. 

383 . Weights and Measures. Although expressly au¬ 
thorized by the constitution to fix the standard of weights 
and measures, Congress has done little in the exercise of 
this power. Legislation has been enacted providing a stand- 


The 

Patent 

Office 


MISCELLANEOUS POWERS 


289 


ard troy pound for the regulation of the coinage (1828), 
establishing uniform standards for use in the customs and 
internal revenue service, and making permissive but not 
obligatory the use of the metric system (1866). 

In the absence of exclusive congressional legislation, each 
State has the right to adopt its own standard of weights 
and measures. The States have retained the old The state 
English standards, instead of adopting the metric s y stems 
system used throughout the greater part of the civilized 
world. Whenever Congress sees fit to establish a national 
standard, these State laws will be superseded, just as in the 
case of a national bankruptcy law. 

384 . Federal Power over Crimes. The power of Con¬ 
gress to define and punish crimes is either expressly granted 
by the constitution, or necessarily implied in the Express 
grant of other powers. Authority is expressly con- P° wers 

ferred to deal with the following crimes: (1) counterfeiting; 

(2) piracies and felonies committed on the high seas; 

(3) offenses against international law; and (4) treason. 

Congress has implied power over a large number of 

crimes, this authority being indispensable to the effective 
exercise of the law-making function. Thus the implied 
power to establish post offices and post roads powers 
necessarily implies power to punish the crime of robbing or 
obstructing the mails; the power to levy customs duties 
and excises requires provision for penalties at every step; 
and many similar examples could be added. 

385 . Counterfeiting. Congress is expressly empowered 
to “provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the se¬ 
curities and current coin of the United States.” 1 Counter¬ 
feiting includes not only the manufacture of forged coins 
and securities, but also passing them when made, or having 
them in possession with intent to pass them. The term also 
includes the counterfeiting or passing counterfeits of excise 
and postage stamps, stamped envelopes, postal cards, let- 

1 Constitution, Art. i, Sec. 8, Par. 6. 


290 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


ters patent, postal money orders, custom-house certificates, 
land-warrants; and also the coins, notes, and bonds of for¬ 
eign governments. 

386 . Piracy. Congress is empowered to define and punish 

piracies and felonies on the high seas, and offenses against 
„ . the law of nations. Piracy as the word is used in 

in interna- international law denotes robbery or forcible dep- 
tionai law re( j a tions committed on the high seas. The ju¬ 
risdiction of a country over the adjacent sea ordinarily ex¬ 
tends to a line three miles beyond low-water mark; but the 
high seas or ocean lying outside this line form the highway of 
nations, subject to their common jurisdiction. Pirates may 
be lawfully captured on the ocean by the ships of any na¬ 
tion, and every country has jurisdiction to punish them, 
since they are regarded as the common enemies of mankind. 
The universal penalty for piracy is death. 

Since Congress has power to define piracy, it may enlarge 
the definition so as to include other crimes than piracy as 
Extension known to the law of nations. Accordingly, Con- 
of term gress has provided that certain other offenses 
shall be deemed piracy, such as the slave-trade, murder on 
the high seas, and acts of hostility against the United States 
or its citizens under color of a commission from a foreign 
state. 

387 . Offenses against the Law of Nations. Congress also 
has pow T er to punish offenses against the law of nations. 
Instances of the exercise of this power are to be found in the 
neutrality laws which forbid the fitting-out of armed ves¬ 
sels, or the enlisting of troops within the United States for 
the use of a belligerent power. Another example is the law 
which prohibits the organization within the boundaries of 
the United States of armed expeditions against friendly 
nations. 

388 . Treason. Since treason aims at the very life of 
Common- government, it has always been considered the 
law treason mos t serious of crimes, and punished with the 


MISCELLANEOUS POWERS 


291 


severest penalties. At the ancient common law, the defini¬ 
tion of treason was left largely to judicial discretion; and as 
a result many offenses were included in the class of construc¬ 
tive treason, subjecting those who committed them to the 
most barbarous punishment. Finally in the reign of Ed¬ 
ward III, Parliament swept away the doctrine of construc¬ 
tive treason by a statute declaring and defining all the 
different branches of treason. 

Similarly the framers of the constitution, in order to 
prevent legislative or judicial extension of the term, inserted 
in that instrument the definition of treason as con- m 

. . . . . . Treason 

sisting only in levying war against the United under the 

States, or adhering to its enemies, giving them 
aid and comfort. To constitute this crime, war must be 
actually levied against the United States; a conspiracy to 
subvert the government by force, although criminal, is not 
treason. As an additional safeguard to a person accused 
of treason, the constitution declares that there shall be no 
conviction except on the testimony of two witnesses to the 
same overt act, or on confession in open court. The penalty 
for treason under existing laws is death; or at the discretion 
of the court, imprisonment for five years at hard labor, with 
a fine of not less than $10,000, and perpetual disqualifica¬ 
tion for office under the United States. 


GENERAL REFERENCES 

Ashley, R. L., The American Federal State (1903), pp. 212-218, 270, 278 
280, 309. 

Black, H. C., Constitutional Law (1897), pp. 207-219, 600-603. 

Cooley, Thos. M., Constitutional Law (1898), pp. 88-89, 94-97, 104. 

Hart, A. B., Actual Government (1903), pp. 16-21, 492-496, 578. 

James, J. A., and Sanford, A. H., Government in State and Nation (1903), 
pp. 222-232. 

McClain, E., Constitutional Law (1905), pp. 92-99, 173-181. 

Pomeroy, J. N., Constitutional Law (1888), secs. 385-407, 413-440. 

Story, Joseph, Commentaries on the Constitution (5th ed., 1905), secs. 
1102-1115, 1151-1167, 1295-1301. 

Tucker, J. R., The Constitution of the United States (1899), n, pp. 558-565, 
572-573, 616-624. 


292 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. Describe fully the Alien and Sedition laws. What were the political 
results of these measures? 

2. Should our present requirements for naturalization be increased? 
Give reasons. 

3. Can persons of all races become naturalized? 

4. How may an American citizen lose his citizenship? 

5. When the father of a family becomes naturalized, what is the status 
of his children of foreign birth? Of those born in the United States? 

6. Give arguments for and against a federal bankruptcy law. 

7. What recent change has been made in the term for which copyrights 
are granted? Why do foreign authors complain of our copyright law? 

8. Name five of the greatest inventions patented by Americans. 

9. What arguments can you give for and against the establishment by 
federal law of the metric system of weights and measures? 

10. How may a trade-mark be protected? 

11. Give historical examples of treason against the United States. What 
punishment was imposed? 

12. Name several crimes against federal law. What court has jurisdiction 
over these offenses? 


CHAPTER XXIX 


POLITICAL PARTIES 

389 . Political Parties in our Government. In the 

United States political parties are the great motive force 
by which the machinery of government is moved. Motive 
Federal and State constitutions and statutes form power of 
the legal foundation of government; but even the government 
provisions of the written constitution have been profoundly 
modified through the action of party organizations. In both 
legislation and administration, the will of the people is gen¬ 
erally expressed, however crudely, through the agency of 
political parties. Hence some knowledge of party history 
and organization is essential to a clear understanding of 
our institutions and government; for broadly speaking, it is 
by the parties that the business of government is conducted, 
and it is largely owing to their influence that our political 
institutions have assumed their present form. 

Although the great body of Northern Democrats were 
stanchly loyal to the Union, their party was disrupted 
by the Civil War, the Republicans remaining in parties 
uninterrupted control of the government from since 1860 
1860 to 1884. Until 1880 the parties were divided princi¬ 
pally over issues arising from the Civil War, especially the 
question of reconstruction. From 1880 to 1892, the tariff 
question was the prominent issue, the Republicans favor¬ 
ing a protective tariff, and the Democrats a tariff for rev¬ 
enue only. From 1892 to 1900, the silver question was 
the all-absorbing issue, the Republicans favoring gold mo¬ 
nometallism, the Democrats bimetallism at the ratio of 16 
to 1. Since 1898, the so-called policy of imperialism, as 
well as such subjects as the control of corporations, the 


294 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


establishment of postal savings-banks, the taxation of in¬ 
comes, the conservation of natural resources, and the re¬ 
vision of tariff rates have received considerable attention 
in party platforms. 

390 . Functions of Parties. Four principal functions are 
performed by parties in carrying on the work of govern¬ 
ment. ( 1 ) Parties afford a means of crystallizing and unify¬ 
ing public sentiment upon the questions of the day . 1 The 
men united in a party are usually in substantial agreement 
upon certain policies, and by the adoption of a party plat¬ 
form these principles are placed before the voters for ap¬ 
proval or rejection. ( 2 ) Parties supply the machinery by 
which the great majority of elective officers are nominated, 
thereby enabling the party voter to cast his ballot for can¬ 
didates of his own political faith. (3) They are the agencies 
by which political campaigns are conducted, the manage¬ 
ment of which is entrusted to various party committees. 
(4) Parties provide an agency for the control of executive 
and legislative policies and agents. Under our system of 
distributing powers among the several departments of 
government, parties afford a valuable means of unifying 
and harmonizing the legislative and executive branches. If 
a party secures control of both these departments, it thereby 
becomes morally responsible for carrying out the policies 
outlined in its platform. Hence, although executive and 
legislative officers possess independent powers under the 
constitution, they must work in harmony to carry out the 
policies of the political party to which they owe a common 
allegiance. 

391 . Organization of Parties. The two chief instruments 
in the management of parties are the party convention and 

Conventions ^he s t an ding committee. Although it represents 

and party the supreme authority of the party, the conven- 
committees .. . . . . . ", , 

tion is only a temporary body, and hence a more 

1 “The true office of the elaborate apparatus used to work up popular excitement over 
party issues is to energize the mass of citizenship into political activity.” — Ford, H. J., The 
Rise and Growth of American Politics, p. 305. 


POLITICAL PARTIES 


295 


permanent agency is needed to carry on the everyday busi¬ 
ness of party management. Accordingly the convention 
elects standing committees — national, State, and local — 
which manage party affairs until the assembling of the suc¬ 
ceeding convention. Such matters as the nomination of 
candidates and the formulation of party platforms are re¬ 
served for the convention itself; while to the several party 
committees are entrusted the calling of conventions, the 
management of campaigns, the organization of political 
clubs, and the general control of the party’s interests. 

At the head of the permanent party organization is the 
national committee, consisting of one member from each 
State and territory. This committee is chosen The national 
every four years at the national convention, each committee 
State and territorial delegation being entitled to one repre¬ 
sentative. The national committee may appoint a smaller 
executive committee, which carries on the presidential cam¬ 
paign under the direction of the national chairman. Other 
important functions of the national committee are the 
choice of a place of meeting for the ensuing national con¬ 
vention, and the selection of its temporary chairman. 1 

Independent of the national committee, but acting in 
harmony with that body, is the State central or State ex¬ 
ecutive committee. This is composed of represent- state 
atives from each congressional or State senatorial commlttees 
district, or of members chosen by the State convention, or 
elected by the several county conventions. The chief func¬ 
tions of the State committee are to fix the time and place 
for the meeting of the State convention, to arrange the 
preliminary work of that body, to wage the party’s cam¬ 
paign in the State, and in general to advance the party’s 
interests. 

The local party committees include county, township, 

1 Another party committee national in character is the congressional committee, ap¬ 
pointed at a joint or separate caucus of the members of each party in the Senate and House. 
This committee includes members from each State and territory which has representatives 
in either house. Its special function is to cooperate with the local committees during con¬ 
gressional campaigns, its efforts being directed especially toward carrying doubtful districts. 


296 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


city, and sometimes even ward and precinct committees; 
Local and there is also a committee for each congres- 
committees s i ona l district. Members of local committees are 
generally chosen either by the voters at a party primary, or 
by county or city conventions. The local committees issue 
the call for the party primary, and often determine the 
rules under which it is held. Hence they exercise important 
powers, since the local primaries form the basis of the entire 
nominating machinery. 

392. The Party Machine. This hierarchy of committees 
is usually spoken of as the “machine” or “organization.” 
Source ot Much criticism is directed against the machine 
power because too frequently it goes beyond its legiti¬ 
mate functions of serving the party, and seeks to perpetu¬ 
ate its own power by dictating nominations, thus indirectly 
controlling a large number of elective and appointive offi¬ 
cers. In order to accomplish this result, the machine must 
control the primaries, since only in this way can delegates 
be elected who are favorable to the wishes of the organiza¬ 
tion. Hence local committees often make up a ticket or 
slate previous to the primary, and endeavor to secure the 
election of certain individuals as convention delegates. 
This usurpation of power is frequently successful, owing to 
the lack of interest taken by the ordinary voter in party 
management; and hence control of nominations and party 
policies is largely in the hands of committees which in 
theory are only the agencies for carrying out the will of the 
voters. 

Within recent years there has been a marked tendency 
for political organizations to pass under the control of a 

The “Boss” single P erson * Owing to his superior political 
skill and sagacity, some leader often wins the title 
of “Boss” by establishing himself as the chief controlling 
factor in local or even State party affairs. Large cities have 
commonly been the most favorable fields for the Boss and 
for machine control generally, because of the numerous 


POLITICAL PARTIES 


297 


offices and the frequent opportunities to secure illicit gain. 1 
Sometimes the sphere of the Boss is larger than the city, 
including the entire State. 

393. Party Responsibility. The great problem in Ameri¬ 
can politics is to make the political party virtually as well 
as nominally responsible to its members. Too Unrepre 
often the political prerogatives of the ordinary sentative 
citizen are confined to choosing between candi- nomlnations 
dates for office who have been nominated by the small group 
of politicians in control of each party. The right to choose 
between two candidates in whose nomination the voter has 
had nothing to say may be democratic government in form, 
but it is not in substance. Since the parties control the 
government, it is essential to representative rule that the 
parties themselves be effectually controlled by their mem¬ 
bers. 

Serious abuses on the part of the machine generally end 
in a revolt within the ranks of the party, many of whose 
members finally support opposing candidates as a 0pposltlon 
rebuke to machine methods, or else form an or- to machine 
ganization within their own party with which to contro1 
oppose the machine. Direct nominations constitute the 
most promising means of checking excessive control by the 
party organization; but up to the present time no remedy 
has been devised which will entirely prevent the evils result¬ 
ing from the tendency of party organizations to dominate 
rather than to serve their party. 2 


1 Bryce enumerates the following conditions as tending to give rise to rings and bosses: 
(1) the existence of a spoils system. (2) Opportunities for illicit gains arisingout of the posses¬ 
sion of office. (3) The presence of a mass of ignorant and pliable voters. (4) The insuf¬ 
ficient participation in politics of the good citizens. — Bryce, James, The American Com¬ 
monwealth, II, p. 120. 

2 “The great need in American politics to-day is that young men of high ideals and reso¬ 
lute purposes for good government should devote themselves to political activity, standing 
up stoutly and constantly for honest government, high ideals in politics, and that active par¬ 
ticipation in political life by which better government is brought to pass.” — Woodburn, 
J. A., Political Parties and Party Problems in the United States, p. 303. 


298 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


GENERAL REFERENCES 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), ch. vi. 

- Readings in American Government and Politics (1910), ch. vi. 

Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth (1907), n, chs. liii-lvi. 

Ford, H. J., The Rise and Growth of American Politics (1898). 

Fuller, Robert H., Government by the People (1908), ch. xi. 

Johnston, Alexander, History of American Politics (1902). 

Macy, J., Party Organization and Machinery (1904). 

■- Political Parties in the United States (1900). 

Merriam, Charles Edward, The American Party System (1922). 

Munro, William B., The Government of the United States (1920), pp. 312-341, 
473-488. 

Woodburn, J. A., Political Parties and Party Problems in the United States 
(1909). 


QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. Define a political party, and describe the functions which it performs. 

2. Prepare a report upon the principles and leaders of the Federalist party. 

3. Describe the principles of Jefferson and the Democratic-Republican 
party. 

4. What were the political principles of the Whig party? 

5. Give an account of the rise of the present Republican party. 

6. Describe the political parties and issues in the campaign of 1860. 

7. How many members compose the Democratic State committee in 
your commonwealth? The State committee of the Republican party? 
How are the members of each committee chosen? 

8. Describe the work performed by the party machine. (Bryce, James, 
The American Commonwealth , ii, pp. 90-96.) 

9. Describe some of the abuses of party organization and methods. 

10. What were the principal issues between the two parties at your last 
State election? Who were the leading candidates of each party? Re¬ 
sults of the election? 

11. Give the same facts with regard to your last municipal election. 

12. In the choice of local officers, which is of greater importance to the 
- voter — that a candidate belongs to a particular party, or that he 

possess a high degree of honesty and ability? Should party politics 
have any part in local elections? 

13. Are members of your board of education chosen on a party ticket, or 
nominated by petition and chosen by ballots which contain no party 
emblems or names? Give arguments in favor of the latter method. 

14. Answer the same question with regard to candidates for the judiciary 
in your State. 

15. What are the arguments in favor of fewer elective offices and short 
ballots? (Kaye, P. L., Readings , pp. 384-391.) 

16. In your State are candidates for office required to file a statement of 
their election expenses? What is the object of such a provision? 

17. Report upon the methods of suppressing political corruption. (Kaye, 
P. L., Readings, pp. 513-525.) 

18. Is there a corrupt practices act in your State? If so, give its chief 
provisions. 




CHAPTER XXX 

NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS 


Functions 


394. Methods of Nomination. Throughout the United 
States, candidates for office are commonly nominated either 
by the party primary or by a nominating con- Prlmary 
vention. While other methods of nomination are and 
sometimes employed (such as nomination by convention 
petition), the primary and the convention are the two chief 
agencies by which party nominations are made. 

395. The Party Primary. The primary, or primary elec¬ 
tion, is either a deliberative meeting or a virtual election 
held by the political partisans of a small area, 
such as a rural township, or a city ward or pre¬ 
cinct. Generally, the primary performs a twofold function: 
(1) that of nominating candidates for local offices within its 
boundaries; and (2) of electing delegates to conventions 
which nominate candidates from larger areas, such as the 
city, or county, or congressional district. 

Thus the primary is the foundation of the entire system 
of nominating machinery, since it directly nominates cer¬ 
tain local officers, and indirectly — through dele¬ 
gate conventions — nominates all others. Even 
the great national conventions proceed from the local pri¬ 
maries; for they are composed of members chosen by State 
or congressional district conventions, the delegates to which 
have been elected at local primaries. 

Recognizing the importance of party primaries in our sys¬ 
tem of popular rule, many States have passed laws which in 
effect make the primary a part of the machinery Legal 
of government. Such laws commonly prescribe regulation ol 
the qualifications of those who may participate, primarle3 


Importance 


soo 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


the time and place of holding the primary, its organization 
and general management. The object of such legislation is 
to secure to each party member his right to participate in 
the primaries and to have his vote fairly counted. In the 
absence of legal regulation, the primary is conducted in ac¬ 
cordance with party rules and customs. 

396. Types of Primaries. In New England and severa 
States elsewhere, the primary (or caucus) is virtually a 
Town-meet- town-meeting of the party voters. The call (is- 
ing type sue d by } oca l committee) requests the party 
members to assemble at a certain time and place for the 
purpose of nominating candidates for local offices, electing 
delegates to conventions, selecting local committees, and 
transacting other party business. This form of primary is 
adapted only to comparatively small districts, such as 
towns, wards, or thinly settled rural counties. 

The second type of primary (which prevails generally 
throughout the United States) is in fact an election, the 
Primary only important difference between it and the regu- 
eiection l ar e l ec tion being that the primary is confined to 
the voters of a single political party. The polls are open as 
on election day, and the person receiving the highest num¬ 
ber of votes for any particular office is thereby nominated. 

397. Local Nominating Conventions. A nominating con¬ 
vention is a meeting of delegates who have been chosen for 
County the purpose of nominating candidates for certain 
conventions 0 ffi ceSj an d transacting other party business, such 

as the appointment of committees and the adoption of a 
platform. Delegates to county conventions are ordinarily 
chosen at primaries held in the various townships or wards. 
County conventions nominate the candidates for the vari¬ 
ous county officers. Frequently they also elect delegates to 
the State convention, and choose the members of the county 
committee. 

In municipal elections, party lines are often drawn al¬ 
most as closely as in State or national elections, notwith- 


NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS 


301 


standing the non-political character of most local business. 
The municipal officers elected by popular vote Municipal 
generally include the mayor, members of the conventions 
council and school board, treasurer, city solicitor, and street 
commissioner. These officials are sometimes nominated at 
municipal conventions composed of delegates chosen at 
party primaries in the various wards or election precincts 
of the city. But in many cities the candidates for muni¬ 
cipal office are chosen directly at the primaries, each party 
voter casting his ballot for the candidates of his choice, 
those receiving a plurality becoming the party nominees. 
Nomination by petition is also permitted in many cities, 
especially for members of the board of education. 

398. Judicial and District Conventions. For the election 
of judges of the county courts, the State is generally divided 
into districts which include several counties; and judicial 
candidates for these judgeships are ordinarily nomin ations 
nominated in judicial conventions within each district. 

For the choice of members of the legislature, many States 
are divided into senatorial and also into smaller representa¬ 
tive or assembly districts; and legislative candi- Legislative 
dates are nominated by conventions composed nomlnations 
of delegates chosen at primaries in the townships or wards 
within the district. In other commonwealths, the county is 
taken as the basis of apportionment in one or both houses 
— each county being entitled to a certain number of sena¬ 
tors or representatives; and in these States candidates for 
the legislature are generally nominated by the county con¬ 
vention. 

399. State Nominating Conventions. The State con¬ 
vention ordinarily consists of several hundred delegates 
chosen by party voters either directly at the pri- officers 
maries, or indirectly through county or district 
conventions. The State convention nominates Conventions 
the officers elected by the people of the State at large, in¬ 
cluding the governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of 


302 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


State, treasurer, and in most commonwealths, an auditor, 
attorney-general, superintendent of public instruction, 
State engineer, surveyor, and judges of the supreme court. 

The call for a State convention is issued by the State 
central committee of the party, and a copy is sent to the 
chairman of each local committee. The call sets 

Tlio call 

forth the time and place of the convention, and 
the number of delegates to which each city, township, or 
county is entitled. Generally, representation of the different 
counties or municipalities is based (at least in part) upon the 
vote cast for the party candidates at the last State or na¬ 
tional election. 

On the appointed day, the convention organizes by elect¬ 
ing a chairman, secretary, and other officers. Then follows 
a report of the committee on credentials, containing a state¬ 
ment of the number of delegates present, and rendering a 
credentials decision concerning contested seats. The plat- 
and platform f orm j s ne xt rea d by th e chairman of the commit¬ 
tee on resolutions, and is ordinarily accepted without 
amendment. 

The convention then takes up its most important work — 
the nomination of candidates. The chair appoints a com- 
Namingthe mittee of tellers to take charge of the balloting, 
candidates whereupon nominations for the office of governor 
are declared in order. After the nominating speeches have 
been made, the balloting commences. When a candidate 
receives the number required for a choice, generally a ma¬ 
jority of all votes cast, it is customary for one of the sup¬ 
porters of a defeated rival to move that his nomination be 
made unanimous. The convention then proceeds with the 
nomination of candidates for other State offices. 

State conventions ordinarily select the members of the 
other State committee to serve until the next conven- 
functions tion, and in presidential years nominate the four 
delegates at large to the national convention. 

400. Presidential Nominating Systems. Three methods 


NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS 


303 


of nominating candidates for the Presidency have prevailed 
in the United States: (1) by congressional caucus, or meet¬ 
ing of the party members of the two houses of Congress 
( 1800 - 1824 ); (2) by State legislatures, acting either in an 
official capacity or as a legislative caucus ( 1824 - 1832 ); 
( 3 ) by national nominating conventions, composed of del¬ 
egates chosen for the special purpose of nominating presi¬ 
dential candidates (1832 to the present time). 

401. The Call of National Conventions. Each political 
party holds its national nominating convention in the 
summer of the year in which the presidential elec- Representa¬ 
tion occurs. The call is issued by the national tlon 
party committee, which body determines the time and place 
for the convention. The call specifies the number o^ dele¬ 
gates to which each State is entitled, and how they shall be 
elected. The Democratic party allows each State twice as 
many delegates as it has electoral votes, each territory being 
also represented. By a recent rule of the Republican party, 
each State is to be represented in the national convention 
by four delegates-at-large, one delegate for each congres¬ 
sional district, and an additional delegate for each congres¬ 
sional district which in 1914 cast not less than 7500 votes 
for the Republican candidate for Congress. 

402. The Delegates. A copy of the official call is sent to 
each State party committee, whereupon that committee 
calls a State convention for the purpose of nomi- ^ 
nating the four delegates at large from each State. 

The State committee also notifies the local committees in 
the different congressional districts throughout the com¬ 
monwealth, and these call congressional district conven¬ 
tions to choose the two delegates to which each district is 
entitled. Delegates to both district and State conventions 
are chosen at local party primaries. 

Long before the meeting of the convention, the names 
of various prominent men are suggested for the instruction 
Presidency. Friends of the leading candidates or- of delegate3 


304 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


ganize in each commonwealth, and endeavor to influence 
State and district conventions to instruct delegates in favor 
of the candidate of their choice. Estimates are given out from 
time to time of the comparative strength of the several can¬ 
didates, and the contest for delegates continues until all 
have been chosen. As a rule it is impossible to foretell with 
certainty who will be the actual nominee of the convention, 
since many State delegations are unpledged, while others 
are instructed in favor of local candidates who are unlikely 
to receive general support. After all the delegates have 
been chosen, the convention city itself becomes the seat 
of war. The supporters of the leading candidates are early 
in the field, opening their headquarters in the prominent 
hotels; and they endeavor by every political device to win 
the support of the delegates. 

403. Procedure in National Conventions. It has become 
customary to hold the national conventions of the two great 

parties in immense auditoriums so as to accommo- 

Auditoriums 

date ten or fifteen thousand spectators, in addi¬ 
tion to nearly two thousand delegates and alternates. Local 
preparations are in charge of a committee of citizens of the 
convention city. 

Toward noon on the day appointed in the official call, the 
convention is called to order by the chairman of the national 
Temporary committee. The proceedings are opened with 
organization p ra y er> The call is then read, after which the 

national committee reports a list of the temporary officers 
of the convention, consisting of a temporary chairman, 
secretary, clerks, sergeants-at-arms, and stenographers. 
This list is generally accepted by the convention without con¬ 
test, whereupon the chairman of the national committee 
yields his place to the temporary chairman, who usually 
addresses the convention in a formal speech on the political 
situation. 

A resolution is next adopted that the convention be gov¬ 
erned by the rules of the preceding convention until other- 


NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS 


305 


wise ordered. Motions are made and carried for the ap¬ 
pointment of a committee on credentials, one . , 

. Appoint- 

on permanent organization, one on rules, and a mentof 
committee on resolutions, each consisting of one committees 
member from each State and territory. Resolutions con¬ 
cerning contested seats are now presented to the conven¬ 
tion, and referred without debate to the committee on 
credentials. The appointment of these committees ends 
the important business of the first session. 

When the convention assembles for the second session, 
the first business in regular order is the report of the com¬ 
mittee on credentials. In deciding cases of con- Report on 
tested seats, the committee on credentials gives cred0ntla is 
each side an opportunity to present its claims, and then de¬ 
cides between them — generally in favor of the regular 
delegates (that is, those indorsed by the State and district 
committees). After the credentials committee has arrived 
at a decision concerning contested seats, its report, includ¬ 
ing a list (arranged by States) of all delegates entitled to 
seats, is generally accepted by the convention with little 
debate. 

The next business in order is the report of the committee 
on permanent organization, which consists of a list of the 
permanent officers of the convention. This report Permanent 
is ordinarily adopted as a matter of course, and or K anlzatlon 
a committee is appointed to escort the permanent chairman 
to the platform. On taking the chair, the permanent chair¬ 
man delivers a “keynote” speech on the issues of the 
approaching campaign. 

The committee on rules then reports the order of business 
for the convention to follow, and its rules of procedure. 
Two rules of great importance are peculiar to 

9 rCUlwS 

Democratic conventions. The first of these is 
the rule requiring for the nomination of candidates two 
thirds of the whole number of votes in the convention. The 
second is the so-called unit rule, under which a majority 


306 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Platform 


of each State delegation is allowed to cast the entire vote 
to which the State is entitled, even against the protest of 
a minority of the delegation. 

While awaiting the report of the committee on resolu¬ 
tions, the convention disposes of miscellaneous business, 
, such as the election of the national committee, 

laneous and of the committee on notification. These 

committees ordinarily consist of one delegate 
from each State and territory, the members being desig¬ 
nated by the respective delegations. 

About the third day, the committee on resolutions is 
ready to report the platform. This is a formal statement of 
the party’s attitude upon the public questions of 
the day, and next to the nomination of candidates, 
is the most important part of the convention’s work. The 
platform is usually adopted as read, although it sometimes 
occasions an exciting contest. 

404. The Nomination of Candidates. Nominating pro¬ 
ceedings are next in order, and these begin with the roll-call 
Roii-caii for °f States (arranged alphabetically) for the presen- 
nominations Nation of candidates for the presidential nomina¬ 
tion. Eight or ten candidates are often nominated, since a 
State delegation frequently thus compliments some favorite 
son who has very little chance of securing general support. 
The presentation of names affords the opportunity for long- 
continued applause, which supposedly indicates the popu¬ 
larity of the respective candidates. 

After the roll-call for nominations is completed, the con¬ 
vention proceeds to the first ballot. As the name of each 
State is called by the convention secretary, the 
chairman of the delegation arises and announces 
the vote of his State. Occasionally a candidate is nominated 
by acclamation, but often many ballots are necessary to 
decide the contest. If none of the chief candidates is suc¬ 
cessful on the first few ballots, it sometimes happens that a 
“dark horse” (a comparatively obscure man) finally re- 


Ballotlng 


NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS 


307 


ceives the nomination. 1 As soon as any candidate receives 
the number of votes necessary for a choice, it is customary 
for the supporters of the next highest candidate to move 
that the nomination be made unanimous, this motion being 
adopted amid wild enthusiasm. 

After the pandemonium has subsided — sometimes after 
a recess, the convention proceeds in the same manner to 
nominate a candidate for the Vice-Presidency. Nomlnatlll 
This nomination seldom receives the careful con- a vice- 
sideration it deserves, and it is often given to a President 
man in the hope that he may be able to carry a doubtful 
State, or in order to placate a faction in the party which 
has been opposed to the presidential nominee. 

As soon as the candidates for President and Vice-Presi¬ 
dent have been named, a motion is carried authorizing the 
national committee to fix the time and place of the Final 
next presidential convention. Provision is made P roceedln g s 
for printing the proceedings, and resolutions of thanks are 
voted to the citizens of the city and to the various conven¬ 
tion officers. The convention then adjourns sine die , and 
the campaign begins. 

405. Presidential Electors. Candidates for the two elec¬ 
tors at large to which each State is entitled are nominated 
at the convention held for the nomination of Methods oi 
State officers; or if there are no State officers to no2nmatlon 
be nominated, by a State convention called expressly for 
this purpose. Generally the candidate for elector in each 
congressional district is nominated at the congressional 
district convention; but in some commonwealths a complete 
electoral ticket for the entire State is nominated by the 
State convention. As already pointed out, the presidential 
electors exercise no discretion in casting their votes, but 
simply register the choice of the national nominating con¬ 
vention. 

* Notable instances are the nominations of Polk, Taylor, Pierce, Hayes, Garfield, and 
Benjamin Harrison. 


308 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


Prevalence 
ol system 


406. Direct Primary System. The convention method of 
nominating candidates is now used in only one third of the 

States. Elsewhere it has been superseded by the 
oiconven- “direct primary” system. This plan abolishes 
the convention entirely by providing that voters 
at party primaries shall cast their ballots directly for their 
party’s candidates — those individuals being nominated 
who receive a plurality of all votes cast. The great merit of 
this plan is that it eliminates the abuses of the convention 
system, especially machine control, and makes the party 
really responsible to its members. 

At first used only for local officers, direct primaries have 
grown in favor until now, in addition to local candidates, 
State officers and federal Senators are often nom¬ 
inated in this manner. Complete state-wide sys¬ 
tems of direct nominations now prevail in thirty-eight 
States. 

Eighteen States have also adopted presidential-prefer¬ 
ence primary laws. These provide that delegates to the 
national party conventions shall be selected directly by the 
voters; and in some cases the voters are also permitted to 
express their preference directly for one of the candidates 
for the presidential nomination. 

407. Nomination by Petition. Another method which 
likewise does away with the convention is that of nomina- 
Character- tion by petition, or by nomination papers. This 
isUcs plan i s employed in Great Britain, and is a char¬ 
acteristic feature of the original form of the Australian 
system. In this country it has been used especially for the 
nomination of members of boards of education, and other 
non-partisan candidates. Under this plan, a candidate may 
be nominated by filing with the election officers a petition, 
signed by the requisite number of voters, who are usually 
required to pledge that they will support the candidate 
named in the petition. The great merit of nomination by 
petition is that it protects the independent voter who can- 



VOTERS WAITING AT THE POLLS 

In many cities and towns, conveniently located shops and offices are chosen as voting places 
Others have specially constructed “ election-booths,” and still others hold elections in school 
houses, town-halls, etc. 



CASTING THE BALLOT 

die election officers are about to check off the voter’s name. His ballot may then be placed 

in the ballot-box. 












































































































































NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS 


309 


National 


not participate in party nominations. Moreover, this 
method makes it possible to oppose objectionable nominees 
by placing before the voters deserving candidates independ¬ 
ently nominated. 

408. Elections. National elections are held on the first 
Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The presi¬ 
dential election occurs every four years counting 
from 1900 , while elections for Representatives are 
held biennially in even-numbered years. Shortly after the 
Civil War, acts were passed providing for a large degree of 
federal control of national elections; but this legislation has 
since been repealed, so that at the present time the several 
commonwealths have entire charge of national, as well as 
of State and local elections. 

In most commonwealths, the governor and other State 
officers are chosen on the first Tuesday after the first Mon¬ 
day in November of the even-numbered years, 
the State election thus being held on the same day 
as the national election. 1 Economy of time, effort, and 
money is secured by having the election of State and federal 
officers on a single day; but the drawback to this plan is 
that State issues are likely to be subordinated to national 
questions. 

In several commonwealths an effort has been made to 
separate local from State and national elections by hold¬ 
ing the local elections at a special time, usually in 
the spring, or else biennially in the odd-numbered 
years. The object of this separation is to have local ques¬ 
tions decided upon their merits apart from other issues. 

409. Qualifications for Voting. Under our form of gov¬ 
ernment, the regulation of the voting privilege is left en¬ 
tirely to the States, so long as they do not restrict Regulation 
the right to vote on account of race, color, or pre- by Slatd 
vious condition of servitude. 2 In most commonwealths 


State 


1 State elections are held on a different day from national elections in seven States, 
namely: Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Oregon, South Carolina, and Vermont. 

2 Constitution, Amendment xv. Congress has of course power to regulate the suffrage in 
the territories and in the District of Columbia. 


310 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


there are few restrictions upon 'the suffrage, the general rule 
being that all citizens may vote if they have attained 
the age of twenty-one, and have resided in the State for 
a period varying from six months to two years — one year 
being the common requirement. In a few commonwealths, 
even aliens are permitted to vote, providing they have 
declared their intention of becoming citizens. 

Criminals, the insane, paupers in institutions, and In¬ 
dians not taxed are excluded from the suffrage in practi- 
oiasses cally all of the States. In addition to these ob- 
exciuded viously necessary disqualifications, about twenty 
commonwealths have placed further restrictions upon the 
suffrage. Thirteen States, nearly all in the South or in New 
England, prescribe some form of educational test, either 
ability to read, or to read and write the English language. 
Several commonwealths, including Arkansas, South Caro¬ 
lina, Tennessee, and Virginia, require payment of a poll- 
tax as a prerequisite to voting. In several Western States 
the suffrage is withheld from the Chinese or persons of the 
Mongolian race; 1 and in Idaho and Utah, from polyga¬ 
mists. As a general rule persons entitled to vote may also 
hold office, provided they are of a certain prescribed age, 
and have lived in the State the requisite period. 

410. Woman Suffrage. The granting of the ballot to 
women is an important result of the recent tendency to 
make our government more democratic. Like the initiative, 
the referendum, and the direct primary, this reform had its 
origin in the West. Wyoming gave women the right to vote 
when it was organized as a territory in 1869 ; Colorado, 
Idaho, and Utah took the same step between 1890 and 1893 . 
During the years 1910 to 1917 , woman suffrage was 
adopted by nine other States. Finally, the suffrage leaders 
turned their attention to Congress, and demanded that the 
national constitution be amended, giving woman the right 
to vote throughout the entire United States. After a long 


NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS 


311 


Districting 


Registration 


contest, Congress in 1919 passed a resolution to this effect; 
and the proposed amendment — the Nineteenth — was 
ratified by the thirty-sixth State in August, 1920. 

411 . Election Districts and Registration. Two prelim¬ 
inaries are necessary before elections are held — districting 
and registration. Districting means dividing the 
civil divisions (counties and townships) of the 
State into small election districts or precincts containing 
as nearly as possible an equal number of voters. 

Each of these small subdivisions has a polling-place where 
voters are commonly required to register their names before 
the election, and where the ballots are cast on 
election day. The object of a preliminary regis¬ 
tration is to identify individuals in communities where the 
residents are not personally known to one another; and to 
settle beforehand, if possible, any question as to a man’s 
right to vote. Frequent registration is seldom required in 
rural districts where the voters are well acquainted with 
each other, while in the cities annual personal registration 
is generally necessary to prevent fraud. A voter registers by 
giving his name, place of residence, age, length of residence 
in the State, county, and election district, information con¬ 
cerning his nativity, and other material facts serving to 
establish his identity. Registration is often in charge of a 
board on which both great parties are equally represented. 

412 . The Conduct of Elections. In addition to the regis¬ 
tration of voters, a large amount of other preliminary work 
must be performed prior to election day. Nom- preliminary 
inations must be duly certified to the officers work 
charged with the duty of printing the official ballots; poll¬ 
ing-places must be designated and provided with ballots; 
and election officers appointed. 

In the cities, general administration of the election laws 
is often in charge of an election board on which the two 
great parties are equally represented; elsewhere Holding the 
these duties are entrusted to an election commis- el0Ctions 



STATE ELECTION 

1920 


Tuesday, November 2 


OFFICIAL BALLOT 


CHATHAM 

Secretary of the Co?nmonwealih. 


The Official Ballot for the State election in Massachusetts is printed on paper 
measuring, usually, about 14 by 10 inches. This is folded the long way, and has 
the date of the election, the name of the city or town, etc. (as above), printed on 
the lirst outside page. On the inside pages are arranged in columns the names 
and residences of the various candidates, with their party designations. For a 
facsimile of a portion of such a ballot, refer to the next page; in addition to the 
candidates shown, this particular ballot contained others for the following State 
offices: auditor, attorney-general, councilor, senator, representative; and for 
county commissioner, and county treasurer. 
























To vote for a Person, mark a Cross X in the Square at 'VX 
the right of the Party Name, or Political Designation. A 


GOVERNOR.Mark ONE. 

- . ... of. .Republican [ 

- -of. .Prohibition j 

- --of. ..Socialist Labor 

- - of. .Democratic | 

- -of. .Socialist 


LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR-.Mark ONE. 


of. .Democratic | 

of. .Republican [ 

of. .Socialist 

of. .Prohibition 

of. .Socialist Labor 


SECRETARY.Mark ONE. 

- -of. .Democratic [ 

- — of . .Socialist 

- .. - of. .Socialist Labor 

- — . - of. .Prohibition | 

— -- of. .Republican | 


TREAS URER.Mark ONE. 

- - of. .Democratic 

- - of. .Socialist 

- - — of. .Socialist Labor 

- -of. .Prohibition 

—• -— of. .Republican 






































































































































314 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


sioner, or to the county or township clerk. Each polling- 
place is in charge of a certain number of inspectors or 
judges, aided by clerks, whose duty it is to open and close 
the polls, to permit only registered persons to vote, to re¬ 
ceive and deposit the ballots, to count the votes, and to 
certify the returns to the proper officials (the board of 
elections or a similar authority). Each party is permitted 
to have “watchers” at every polling-place, who witness 
the casting and counting of the ballots, and challenge any 
person whom they believe not qualified to vote. 

Every precaution is taken to secure a free and honest 
Election expression of the will of the voters. In many 
safeguards States, electioneering is forbidden within a cer¬ 
tain distance (often one hundred feet) of the polling-places; 
watchers and challengers are permitted each party during 
the casting and counting of ballots; election officers are 
sworn not to attempt to influence any voter in casting his 
ballot; precautions are taken against “repeating,” and 
against “stuffing” the ballot-box; identification of his 
ballot by any voter is prohibited; 1 candidates for office are 
sometimes required to file sworn statements of the amount 
expended by them or in their behalf for election purposes; 
and severe penalties are provided against bribery or intim¬ 
idation of voters. 

413. Casting and counting the Ballots. Throughout the 
Union, voting is by ballot, the polls being open during day- 
Austraiian light, commonly from six a.m. to six p.m. All the 
system States except two have adopted the Australian 
ballot in modified form. 2 This system provides for the ex¬ 
clusive use of an official ballot upon which the names of all 
candidates are printed (generally in parallel columns under¬ 
neath the party names and emblems). Another form 
known as the “ Massachusetts ” ballot is used in fourteen 

1 In order to prevent him from selling his vote, and then distinguishing his ballot by 
tearing or marking it in such a way that the purchaser may know that he has kept his 
agreement. 

2 In ten commonwealths voting machines are used to a limited extent. 


NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS 


315 


States. This omits the party emblem entirely, the names 
of the candidates being arranged in alphabetical order 
under the title of each office, followed by the name of the 
party; and the voter must have sufficient intelligence to 
read the ballot and select the candidates for whom he 
wishes to vote. Other States have a different plan, and 
print a separate ballot for each party or group of voters 
that has nominated candidates. 

The voter receives one of these ballots from the election 
officials, and prepares it while alone in a little booth. He 
may vote a straight ticket by placing a cross-mark in 
the circle at the head of the party column, or a split or 
mixed ticket by placing a cross-mark opposite the name of 
each candidate for whom he wishes to vote. He then folds 
his ballot, and hands it to an election officer, who, in the 
presence of the other officers and of the voter, deposits it 
in the ballot-box. 

As soon as the polls close, the ballots are counted, and 
the results certified to the proper county or city Election 
officers, who canvass the returns for the entire returns 
county or city, and issue certificates of election to the suc¬ 
cessful candidates. When State officers, presidential elec¬ 
tors, or congressmen are voted for, the county authorities 
certify the result in their respective counties to State offi¬ 
cers, who canvass the returns and issue the election certif¬ 
icates. 

In most commonwealths a plurality only is necessary to 
an election; that is, a number of votes in excess of those 
received by any other candidate. A few New choice by 
England States require a majority of all votes pluraiity 
cast, and where there are more than two candidates, this 
sometimes necessitates a second election. For the adoption 
of constitutional amendments a majority of all votes cast at 
the election is generally required. 


316 


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 


GENERAL REFERENCES 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910), chs. vn, xxx. 

- Readings in American Government and Politics (1910), ch. vn. 

Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth (1907), ii, chs. lxvi, lxix. 

Ford, H. J., The Rise and Growth of American Politics (1898), ch. xvi. 

Merriam, C. E., Primary Elections (1908). 

Reinsch, P. S., Readings on the American Federal Government (1909), ch. 
xvi. 

Stan wood, Edward, A History of the Presidency (1898). 

Woodburn, J. A., Political Parties and Party Problems in the United States 
(1909), chs. x, xn, xx. 

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 

1. Distinguish between an inhabitant, a citizen, and a voter. 

2. Are all citizens voters? In your State must a voter he a citizen? 

3. What are the qualifications for voters in your State? 

4. Examine the report of the last census and ascertain the total number 
of citizens and the number of voters in your city or county. How many 
votes are usually cast in your city and county elections? 

5. In the last State election how many votes were cast in your county 
for governor? What number of voters failed to exercise the right of 
suffrage? Should there be a property qualification for voters? An 
educational qualification? 

6. Give the chief arguments for and against woman’s suffrage. 

7. Is registration required in your State? In all communities, or in cities 
of a certain size? What are the advantages of registration? 

8. How is your local board of registration chosen? Of how many members 
composed? 

9. Give the time of holding local, State, and national elections in your 
commonwealth. What are the reasons for holding these at the same or 
different times? 

10. State the advantages and disadvantages of frequent elections. 

11. Which form of the Australian ballot is used in your State? 

12. Where is the polling-place in your precinct? How many votes were 
cast there at the last election? During what hours were the polls open? 

13. What body canvasses the vote in your city or county? 

14. In your State what candidates are nominated by conventions? By di¬ 
rect primaries? By petition? What are the advantages of each method? 

15. Describe the last State convention held by one of the political parties 
in your State, and compare its procedure with that described in Sec¬ 
tion 399. 

16. Suggested readings on political rights and duties: Kaye, P. L., Read¬ 
ings, pp. 111-128. 









APPENDIX A 


THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

Preamble 

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more per¬ 
fect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide 
for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure 
the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain 
and establish this constitution for the United States of America. 

Article I. Legislative Department 
Section I. Congress in General 

All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Con¬ 
gress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and 
House of Representatives. 

Section II. House of Representatives 

1. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members 
chosen every second year by the people of the several States, and 
the electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for 
electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature. 

2. No person shall be a Representative who shall not have at¬ 
tained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citi¬ 
zen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an 
inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. 

3. [Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among 
the several States which may be included within this Union, ac¬ 
cording to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by 
adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound 
to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, 
three fifths of all other persons. 1 The actual enumeration shall be 
made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of 
the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, 
in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of Repre¬ 
sentatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each 
State shall have at least one Representative; and until such enu¬ 
meration shall be made, the State oi' New Hampshire shall be 
entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and 
Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New 

i Superseded by the fourteenth amendment. 


11 


APPENDIX 


Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Vir¬ 
ginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia 
three.] 

4. When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, 
the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill 
such vacancies. 

5. The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and 
other officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

Section III. Senate 

1. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two 
Senators from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof, 1 for 
six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. 

2. Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of 
the first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into 
three classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be 
vacated at the expiration of the second year; of the second class, 
at the expiration of the fourth year, and of the third class, at the 
expiration of the sixth year, so that one third may be chosen every 
second year; and if vacancies happen by resignation or otherwise 
during the recess of the legislature of any State, the executive 
thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting 
of the legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. 

3. No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to 
the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United 
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that 
State for which he shall be chosen. 

4. The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of 
the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

5. The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a Presi¬ 
dent pro tempore in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he 
shall exercise the office of President of the United States. 

6. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. 
When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. 
When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice 
shall preside: and no person shall be convicted without the concur¬ 
rence of two thirds of the members present. 

7. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further 
than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy 
any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States; but 
the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to in¬ 
dictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law. 

Section IV. Both Houses 

1. The times, places, and manner of holding elections for Sena¬ 
tors and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the 

1 Superseded by the seventeenth amendment. 


APPENDIX 


m 


legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make 
or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Sen¬ 
ators. 

2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and 
such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless 
they shall by law appoint a different day. 

Section V. The Houses Separately 

1. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and 
qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall con¬ 
stitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn 
from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance 
of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties, as 
each house may provide. 

2. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, pun¬ 
ish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence 
of two thirds, expel a member. 

3. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from 
time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their 
judgment require secrecy, and the yeas and nays of the members of 
either house on any question shall, at the desire of one fifth of those 
present, be entered on the journal. 

4. Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without 
the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to 
any other place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. 

Section VI. Privileges and Disabilities of Members 

1. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensa¬ 
tion for their services, to be ascertained by law and paid out of 
the treasury of the United States. They shall, in all cases except 
treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest 
during their attendance at the session of their respective houses, 
and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech 
or debate in either house they shall not be questioned in any other 
place. 

2. No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which 
he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority 
of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emolu¬ 
ments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no 
person holding any office under the United States shall be a mem¬ 
ber of either house during his continuance in office. 

Section VII. Mode of Passing Laws 

1. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of 
Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with 
amendments as on other bills. 


IV 


APPENDIX 


2 . Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representa¬ 
tives and the Senate shall, before it become a law, be presented to 
the President of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, 
but if not he shall return it, with his objections, to that house in 
which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at 
large on their journal and proceed to reconsider it. If after such 
reconsideration two thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, 
it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by 
which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two 
thirds of that house it shall become a law. But in all such cases the 
votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the 
names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered 
on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be 
returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) 
after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, 
in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their 
adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 

3. Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of 
the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except 
on a question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President 
of the United States; and before the same shall take effect, shall 
be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be re- 
passed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, 
according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of 
a bill. 


Section VIII. Powers granted to Congress 

The Congress shall have power: 

1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay 
the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare 
of the United States; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be 
uniform throughout the United States; 

2 . To borrow money on the credit of the United States; 

3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the 
several States, and with the Indian tribes; 

4. To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform 
laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States; 

5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, 
and fix the standard of weights and measures; 

6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities 
and current coin of the United States; 

7. To establish post offices and post roads; 

8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing 
for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to 
their respective writings and discoveries; 

9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court; 

10. To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the 
high seas and offenses against the law of nations; 


APPENDIX 


v 


11. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make 
rules concerning captures on land and water; 

12. To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money 
to that use shall be for a longer term than two years; 

13. To provide and maintain a navy; 

14. To make rules for the government and regulation of the land 
and naval forces. 

15. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of 
the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions; 

16. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the mili¬ 
tia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the 
service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively 
the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the 
militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress; 

17. To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over 
such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of 
particular States and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat 
of the government of the United States, and to exercise like author¬ 
ity over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the 
State in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, maga¬ 
zines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings; and 

18. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for 
carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers 
vested by this constitution in the government of the United States, 
or in any department or officer thereof. 

Section IX. Powers denied to the United States 

1. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the 
States now existing shall think proper to admit shall not be pro¬ 
hibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hun¬ 
dred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such impor¬ 
tation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person. 

2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus¬ 
pended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public 
safety may require it. 

3. No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 

4. No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in pro¬ 
portion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be 
taken. 

5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any 
State. 

6. No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce 
or revenue to the ports of one State over those of another; nor shall 
vessels bound to or from one State be obliged to enter, clear, or pay 
duties in another. 

7. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in conse¬ 
quence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement 


VI 


APPENDIX 


and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money 
shall be published from time to time. 

8. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States; and 
no person holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, 
without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolu¬ 
ment, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, 
or foreign state. 

Section X . Powers denied to the States 

1. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confedera¬ 
tion; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of 
credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in pay¬ 
ment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law 
impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility. 

2. No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any 
imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be abso¬ 
lutely necessary for executing its inspection laws; and the net prod¬ 
uce of all duties and imposts, laid by any State on imports or 
exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States; 
and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the 
Congress. 

3. No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any 
duty of tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter 
into any agreement or compact with another State or with a for¬ 
eign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded or in such 
imminent danger as will not admit of delay. 

Article II. Executive Department 
Section I. President and Vice-President 

1. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the 
United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term 
of four years, and together with the Vice-President, chosen for the 
same term, be elected as follows: 

2. Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature 
thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole num¬ 
ber of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be en¬ 
titled in the Congress; but no Senator or Representative, or person 
holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be 
appointed an elector. 

3. [The electors shall meet in their respective States and vote by 
ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhab¬ 
itant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a 
list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for 
each; which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to 
the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the 
President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the 



APPENDIX 


Vll 


presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the 
certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person hav¬ 
ing the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such 
number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; 
and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an 
equal number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall im¬ 
mediately choose by ballot one of them for President; and if no per¬ 
son have a majority, then from the five highest on the list the said 
House shall in like manner choose the President. But in choosing 
the President the votes shall be taken by States, the representation 
from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall 
consist of a member or members from two thirds of the States, and 
a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. In every 
case, after the choice of the President, the person having the great¬ 
est number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice-President. 
But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the 
Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice-President.] 1 

4. The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors 
and the day on which they shall give their votes, which day shall be 
the same throughout the United States. 

5. No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the 
United States at the time of the adoption of this constitution, shall 
be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be 
eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of 
thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the 
United States. 

6. In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his 
death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties 
of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President, and 
the Congress may by law provide for the case of removal, death, 
resignation, or inability, both of the President and Vice-President, 
declaring what officer shall then act as President, and such officer 
shall act accordingly until the disability be removed or a President 
shall be elected. 

7. The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a 
compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished dur¬ 
ing the period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall 
not receive within that period any other emolument from the 
United States or any of them. 

8. Before he enter on the execution of his office he shall take the 
following oath or affirmation: 

“ I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the 
office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my 
ability preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United 
States.” 

1 Superseded by the twelfth amendment. 


Vlll 


APPENDIX 


Section II. Powers of the President 

1. The President shall be commander-in-chief of the army and 
navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States 
when called into the actual service of the United States; he may 
require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of 
the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties 
of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant re¬ 
prieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except 
in cases of impeachment. 

2. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators 
present concur; and he shall nominate, and, by and with the ad¬ 
vice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other 
public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all 
other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not 
herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by 
law; but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such 
inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the 
courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 

3. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that 
may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commis¬ 
sions which shall expire at the end of their next session. 

Section III. Duties of the President 

He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of 
the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such 
measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on 
extraordinary occasions, convene both houses, or either of them, 
and in case of disagreement between them with respect to the time 
of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall 
think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public minis¬ 
ters; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and 
shall commission all the officers of the United States. 

Section IV. Impeachment 

The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the United 
States shall be removed from office on impeachment for and con¬ 
viction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemean¬ 
ors. 


Article III. Judicial Department 
Section I. United States Courts 

The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one 
Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may 
from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the 


APPENDIX 


IX 


supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good 
behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services a 
compensation which shall not be diminished during their continu¬ 
ance in office. 

Section II. Jurisdiction of the United States Courts 

1. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, 
arising under this constitution, the laws of the United States, and 
treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority; to 
all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and con¬ 
suls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to con¬ 
troversies to which the United States shall be a party; to contro¬ 
versies between two or more States; between a State and citizens 
of another State; between citizens of different States; between 
citizens of the same State claiming lands under grants of different 
States, and between a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign 
States, citizens, or subjects. 1 

2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and 
consuls, and those in which a State shall be a party, the Supreme 
Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases be¬ 
fore mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdic¬ 
tion, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such 
regulations, as the Congress shall make. 

3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall 
be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said 
crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within 
any State, the trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress 
may by law have directed. 

Section III. Treason 

1. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levy¬ 
ing war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them 
aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless 
on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on con¬ 
fession in open court. 

2. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of 
treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood 
or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted. 

Article IV. The States and the Federal Government 

Section I. State Records 

Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public 
acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And 
the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which 

1 This clause has been amended. See Amendments, Article xi. 


X APPENDIX 

such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect 
thereof. 


Section II. Privileges of Citizens , etc. 

1. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges 
and immunities of citizens in the several States. 

2. A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other 
crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, 
shall, on demand of the executive authority of the State from which 
he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having jurisdic¬ 
tion of the crime. 

3. No person held to service or labor in one State, under the 
laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any 
law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, 
but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such serv¬ 
ice or labor may be due. 1 

Section III. New States and Territories 

1. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; 
but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdic¬ 
tion of any other State; nor any State be formed by the junction 
of two or more States or parts of States, without the consent of 
the legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress. 

2. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all 
needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other 
property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this con¬ 
stitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the 
United States or of any particular State. 

Section IV. Guarantees to the States 

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union 
a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them 
against invasion, and on application of the legislature, or of the 
Executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), against do¬ 
mestic violence. 

Article V. Power of Amendment 

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem 
it necessary, shall propose amendments to this constitution, or, 
on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several 
States, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which in 
either case shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of this 
constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of 
the several States, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as 

1 This clause has been nullified by Amendment xiii, which abolishes slavery. 


APPENDIX 


xi 

the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the 
Congress, provided that no amendment which may be made prior 
to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any 
manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of 
the first article; and that no State, without its consent, shall be 
deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. 

Article VI. Public Debt, Supremacy of the Constitu¬ 
tion, Oath of Office, Religious Test 

1. All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before 
the adoption of this constitution, shall be as valid against the 
United States under this constitution as under the Confedera¬ 
tion. 

2. This constitution, and the laws of the United States which 
shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which 
shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be 
the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every State shall 
be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any 
State to the contrary notwithstanding. 

3. The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the 
members of the several State legislatures, and all executive and 
judicial officers both of the United States and of the several States, 
shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this constitution, 
but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any 
office or public trust under the United States. 

Article VII. Ratification of the Constitution 

The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be suf¬ 
ficient for the establishment of this constitution between the States 
so ratifying the same. 

Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the States 
present, the seventeenth day of September, in the year of our 
Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of 
the Independence of the United States of America the twelfth. 
In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names. 

George Washington, President, and Deputy from Virginia. 

New Hampshire — John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman. 
Massachusetts — Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King. 
Connecticut — William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman. 

New York — Alexander Hamilton. 

New Jersey — William Livingston, David Brearley, William 
Paterson, Jonathan Dayton. 

Pennsylvania — Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert 
Morris, George Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, 
James Wilson, Gouverneur Morris. 


APPENDIX 


99 

XI1 

Delaware — George Read, Gunning Bedford, Jr., John Dickin¬ 
son, Richard Bassett, Jacob Broom. 

Maryland — James McHenry, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, 
Daniel Carroll. 

Virginia — John Blair, James Madison, Jr. 

North Carolina — William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, 
Hugh Williamson. 

South Carolina — John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinck¬ 
ney, Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler. 

Georgia — William Few, Abraham Baldwin. 

Attest: William Jackson, Secretary. 

AMENDMENTS 1 
Article I 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of re¬ 
ligion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the 
freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people peace¬ 
ably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress 
of grievances. 

Article II 

A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free 
State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be 
infringed. 

Article III 

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house 
without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a man¬ 
ner to be prescribed by law. 

Article IV 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures 
shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon prob¬ 
able cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly 
describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be 
seized. 


Article V 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise 
infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand 
jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the 
militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; 
nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice 

1 The first ten amendments were proposed by Congress, September 25 , 1789, and declared 
in force December 15, 1791. 











APPENDIX 


• • • 
xm 

put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any crim¬ 
inal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, 
liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private 
property be taken for public use without just compensation. 

Article VI 

In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to 
a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and 
district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which dis¬ 
trict shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be in¬ 
formed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted 
with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for 
obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of 
counsel for his defense. 


Article VII 

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall 
exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, 
and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any 
court of the United States, than according to the rules of the com¬ 
mon law. 

Article VIII 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, 
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

Article IX 

The enumeration in the constitution of certain rights shall not 
be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

Article X 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the constitu¬ 
tion, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States 
respectively or to the people. 

Article XI 1 

The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed 
to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted 
against one of the United States by citizens of another State, or 
by citizens or subjects of any foreign state. 

Article XII 2 

1. The electors shall meet in their respective States and vote 
by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, 
shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves; they 

1 Proposed by Congress March 5, 1794, and declared in force January 8, 1798. 

2 Proposed by Congress December 12, 1803, and declared in force September 25, 1804. 


XIV 


APPENDIX 


shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and 
in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they 
shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President and 
of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of 
votes for each; which lists they shall sign and certify, and trans¬ 
mit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, 
directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the 
Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Repre¬ 
sentatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be 
counted. The person having the greatest number of votes for 
President shall be the President, if such number be a majority of 
the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have 
such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers 
not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the 
House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the 
President. But in choosing the President the votes shall be taken 
by States, the representation from each State having one vote; a 
quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members 
from two thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall 
be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives 
shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall 
devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, 
then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the 
death or other constitutional disability of the President. 

2. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-Pres¬ 
ident shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of 
the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have a 
majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list the Senate 
shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall 
consist of two thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a ma¬ 
jority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. 

3. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of Pres¬ 
ident shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United 
States. 


Article XIII 1 

1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a pun¬ 
ishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly con¬ 
victed, shall exist within the United States or any place subject 
to their jurisdiction. 

2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appro¬ 
priate legislation. 

Article XIV 2 

1 . All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and sub¬ 
ject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States 

1 Proposed by Congress February 1 , 1865, and declared in force December 18, 1865. 

' Proposed by Congress June 16, 1866, and declared in force July 28, 1868. 


APPENDIX 


xv 


and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or en¬ 
force any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of 
citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any per¬ 
son of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor 
deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of 
the laws. 

2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several 
States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole 
number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But 
when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for 
President and Vice-President of the United States, Representa¬ 
tives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, or 
the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male 
inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citi¬ 
zens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for par¬ 
ticipation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation 
therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of 
such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens 
twenty-one years of age in such State. 

3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, 
or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil 
or military, under the United States or under any State, who, hav¬ 
ing previously taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as an 
officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legisla¬ 
ture, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support 
the constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insur¬ 
rection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to 
the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two thirds 
of each house, remove such disability. 

4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, author¬ 
ized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and 
bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall 
not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State 
shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insur¬ 
rection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the 
loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations, 
and claims shall be held illegal and void. 

5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate 
legislation, the provisions of this article. 

Article XV 1 

1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not 
be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on 
account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation. 

1 Proposed by Congress February 20, 1869, and declared in force March 30, 1870. 


xvi 


APPENDIX 


Article XVI 1 

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on in¬ 
comes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment 
among the several States, and without regard to any census or 
enumeration. 


Article XVII 2 

1. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two 
Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six 
years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each 
State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most 
numerous branch of the State legislatures. 

2. When vacancies happen in the representation of any State 
in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue 
writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legis¬ 
lature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make 
temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by 
election as the legislature may direct. 

3. This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the 
election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as 
part of the Constitution. 

Article XVIII 3 

1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manu¬ 
facture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the 
importation thereof into or the exportation thereof from the 
United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof 
for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited. 

2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent 
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. 

3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been 
ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures 
of the several States as provided in the Constitution within seven 
years from the date of submission hereof to the States by the 
Congress. 

Article XIX 4 

1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be 
denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account 
of sex. 

2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appro¬ 
priate legislation. 

1 Proposed by Congress July 12, 1909, and declared in force February 25, 1913. 

* Proposed by Congress June 12, 1912, and declared in force April 8, 1913. 

8 Proposed by Congress December 17, 1917, and declared on January 29, 1919, to be in 
force on and after January 16, 1920. 

* Proposed by Congress June 4, 1919, and declared in force August 26, 1920. 


APPENDIX 


XVII 


APPENDIX B 


AREA, POPULATION, AND ELECTORAL VOTES 

OF THE STATES 


STATE 

Became 
Member of 
Union 

Area Square 
Miles 

POPULATION 

Electoral 

Vote (Ap¬ 

portionment 
of 1911 ) 

1910 

192(1 

Alabama . . 


• 

• 

• 

i8iq 

Si.098 

2.1 |8,oq3 

8,348,174 

12 

Arizona . . 


• 

• 

• 

IQI 2 

H 3.956 

204.354 

334.162 

3 

Arkansas . . 


• 

• 

• 

1836 

53.335 

1 , 574.449 

1 , 752,204 

9 

California . 


• 

• 

• 

1850 

158,297 

2 . 377.540 

3,426,861 

13 

Colorado . . 


• 

• 

• 

1875 

103,948 

799,024 

939,629 

6 

Connecticut . 


• 

• 

• 

1788 

4.965 

1 , 114.756 

1,380,631 

7 

Delaware . . 


• 


• 

1787 

2,370 

202,322 

223,003 

3 

Florida . . 


• 

• 

• 

1845 

58,666 

752,619 

968,470 

6 

Georgia . . 


• 

• 

• 

1788 

59 . 26 s 

2,609,121 

2,895,832 

14 

Idaho . . . 


• 

• 

• 

1890 

83.888 

325.594 

431,866 

4 

Illinois . . 


• 

• 

• 

1818 

56.665 

5,638.591 

6,485,280 

29 

Indiana . . 


• 

• 

• 

1816 

36,354 

2,700,876 

2 , 930,390 

IS 

Iowa . . . 


• 

• 

• 

1846 

56,147 

2,224,771 

2,404.021 

13 

Kansas . . 


• 

• 

• 

1861 

82,158 

1,690.949 

1 , 769.257 

10 

Kentucky 


• 

• 

• 

I 7 QI 

40,598 

2,289,905 

2,416,630 

13 

Louisiana . 


• 

• 

• 

1812 

48,506 

1,656,388 

1,798,509 

10 

Maine • • • 


• 

• 

• 

1820 

33.040 

742.371 

768,014 

6 

Maryland 


• 

• 

• 

1788 

12,327 

1,295,346 

1,449,661 

3 

Massachusetts 


• 

• 

• 

1788 

8,266 

3,366.416 

3 . 852,356 

18 

Michigan . . 


• 

• 

• 

1837 

57 , 98 o 

2,810.173 

3,668,4x2 

15 

Minnesota 


• 

• 

• 

1858 

84,682 

2,075,708 

2 , 387,125 

12 

Mississippi . 


• 

• 

• 

1817 

46,865 

1 , 797,114 

1,790,618 

10 

Missouri . . 


• 

• 

• 

1821 

69,420 

3 , 293.335 

3,404,055 

18 

Montana . . 


• 

• 

• 

1889 

146,997 

• 376,053 

548,889 

4 

Nebraska . . 


• 

• 

• 

1867 

77.520 

1,192,214 

1 , 296,372 

8 

Nevada . . 


• 

• 

• 

1864 

110,690 

81,875 

77,407 

3 

New Hampshire 

• 

• 

• 

1788 

9.341 

430,572 

443,083 

4 

New Jersey . 


• 

• 

• 

1787 

8,224 

2 . 537.167 

3 , 155,900 

14 

New Mexico 


• 

• 

• 

ZQI 2 

122,634 

327.301 

360,350 

3 

New York . 


• 

• 

• 

1788 

49,204 

O.H 3 , 6 l 4 

10,385,227 

45 

North Carolina 

• 

• 

• 

1789 

52,426 

2,206,287 

2 , 559.123 

12 

North Dakota 


• 

• 

• 

1889 

70.837 

577.056 

646,872 

5 

Ohio . . . 


• 

• 

• 

1802 

4 1,040 

4 . 767,121 

5 . 759.394 

24 

Oklahoma 


• 

• 

• 

1907 

70.057 

1 . 657.155 

2,028,283 

10 

Oregon . . 


• 

• 

• 

1859 

96,699 

672,765 

783.389 

5 

Pennsylvania 


• 

• 

• 

1787 

45.126 

7.665,111 

8,720,0x7 

38 

Rhode Island 


• 

• 

• 

1790 

1.248 

542,610 

604,397 

5 

South Carolina 


• 

• 

• 

1788 

30.989 

i, 5 rs ,400 

1,683.724 

9 

South Dakota 


• 

• 

• 

1889 

77.615 

583.888 

636,547 

5 

Tennessee. . 


• 

• 

• 

1706 

42,022 

2.184,789 

2 , 337,885 

12 

Texas . . . 


• 

• 

• 

184S 

265,806 

3,896,542 

4,663,228 

20 

Utah . . . 


• 

• 

• 

1804 

84,090 

373.351 

449,396 

4 

Vermont . . 


• 

• 

• 

I 7 QI 

9,564 

355.956 

352,428 

4 

Virginia . . 


• 

• 

• 

1788 

42,627 

2,061,612 

2,309,187 

12 

Washington . 


• 

• 

• 

1889 

69,127 

1,141,090 

1.356,621 

7 

West Virginia 


• 

• 

• 

1863 

24,170 

1,221,119 

1,463,701 

8 

Wisconsin . . 


• 

• 

• 

1848 

56,066 

2 , 333 . 86 o 

2,632,067 

13 

Wyoming . . 


• 

• 

• 

1890 

97.914 

145.965 

194,402 

3 

Total . 






3 , 026,719 

91,641,197 

105,273,049 

531 





























APPENDIX 


xviii 


APPENDIX C 

AREA AND POPULATION OF TERRITORIES 
AND INSULAR POSSESSIONS 


TERRITORY 

Date of 
Acquisition 

Date of 
Organization 

Area Square 
Miles 

Population, 1920 

Alaska. 

1867 

1868 

590,884 

" 54.899 

District of Columbia . . 

1791 

70 

437,571 

Guam. 

1899 


210 

13,275 

Hawaii. 

1898 

1900 

6,449 

255,912 

Panama Canal Zone . . 

1904 


436 

22,858 

Philippine Islands . . . 

1899 

1902 

115,026 

10,350,640 

Porto Rico. 

1899 

1900 

3,435 

1,299,809 

Tutuila Group, Samoa 

1900 


77 

8,056 

Virgin Islands .... 

1917 


150 

26,051 

Total. 



716,737 

12,469,071 


APPENDIX D 

ILLUSTRATIVE MATERIAL FOR THE STUDY 

OF GOVERNMENT 

Part I. Local Governments. Chapters i-iii 

1. A map of the pupil’s State, showing the counties. 

2. An enlarged map of the pupil’s county, showing its subdivisions. 

3. Reports of county and town or township officers. 

4. Ballots used at county elections. 

5. A collection of legal notices from the local papers. 

6. Copies of the more common legal blanks (deeds, mortgages, etc.). 

7. Town-warrants, tax-bills, and other town documents. 

8. The State constitution and revised statutes. 

9. The manual of the State legislature. 

10. The city charter and ordinances. 

11. A copy of the city manual for each pupil. 

12. A map of the city showing ward lines and election precincts. 

13. The city council calendar. 

14. Copies of measures introduced into the council, and of ordinances 
published in the daily papers. 

15. Reports of the several municipal departments and officers. 

16. A declaration of taxable property and a tax-bill. 

17. Copies of tally-sheets used at elections. 

18. Copies of nomination petitions, if used. 

19. Copies of the ballots used at municipal, State, and national elections. 

20. A copy of the jury list. 

21. A set of the forms used in civil and criminal actions. 























APPENDIX 


xix 


Part II. State Governments. Chapters iv-xi 

1. Copies of the constitution and revised statutes of the pupil’s own 
State. 

2. A collection of the constitutions of all the States. The most recent 
and complete is F. N. Thorpe’s The Federal and State Constitutions, 
Colonial Charters, and other Organic Laws ( 1909 ). 

3. A good text-book on the government of the pupil’s own State, such 
as the Handbooks of American Government, edited by L. B. Evans. 

4. The manual of the State legislature. 

5. A volume of the laws made during a legislative session. 

6. A volume of the reports of the Supreme Court. 

7. A map of the pupil’s State, showing the representative and senatorial 
election districts. 

8. Copies of the ballots used at State and national elections. 

9. Copies of bills which have been introduced into the legislature. 

10. Copies of the calendar and the journal of each house of the legisla¬ 
ture. 

Part III. The National Government. 

Chapters xii-xxx 

1. A large political map of the United States, showing territorial acquisi¬ 
tions. 

2. A good physiographic map of the United States. 

3. Abstract of the Thirteenth Census, and the statistical atlas of the Thir¬ 
teenth Census. 

4. The Statistical Abstract of the United States. 

5. The United States Revised Statutes. 

6. Copies of the House Manual and the Senate Manual. 

7. Latest copy of the Congressional Directory. 

8. The Congressional Record. 

9. Reports of the federal departments and bureaus, especially those of 
the Civil Service Commission, the Interstate Commerce Commission, 
the Commissioner of Education, the Commissioner of Immigration, 
the Monthly Summary of Commerce and Finance, the Year-Book 
of the Department of Agriculture, the Consular Reports, and the Labor 
Bulletins. 

10. The Executive Register, published by the Government Printing 
Office. 

11. Thorpe’s The Federal and State Constitutions. This contains also the 
early charters and plans of Union: — colonial charters. New England 
Articles of Confederation, Albany Plan of Union, Declaration of 
Independence, Articles of Confederation. 

12. Through the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D.C., the 
federal government distributes at a nominal price thousands of pub¬ 
lications of value to students of government. Price lists of these pub¬ 
lications should be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, 
and the pupils should be fully informed concerning the material thus 
available. 


XX 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX E 

SELECTED REFERENCES ON AMERICAN 

GOVERNMENT 

Bibliographies and Outlines for the Study of Government 

Brookings, W. D., and Ringwalt, R. C., Briefs for Debate on Current Polit¬ 
ical, Economic, and Social Topics (1896). 

Channing, E., and Hart, A. B., Guide to the Study of American History 
(1896). 

Hart, A. B., Handbook of the History, Diplomacy, and Government of the 
United States (1908). 

- Source Book of American History (1899). 

Municipal Affairs, vol. v, no. 1 (1901), contains a classified list of books 
and articles on local government. 

New England History Teachers’ Association, Outline for the Study of Ameri¬ 
can Civil Government (1910). 

New York State Education Department, Syllabus for Secondary Schools 
(1910). 

Sources in American Government 

Beard, C. A., Readings in American Government and Politics (1910). 

Hart, A. B., American History told by Contemporaries (1906, 4 vols.). 

Kaye, P. L., Readings in Civil Government (1910). 

Macdonald, William, Select Charters and other Documents illustrative of 
American History, 1606-1775 (1904). 

- Select Documents illustrative of the History of the United States , 

1776-1861 (1898). 

Macdonald, William, Select Statutes and other Documents illustrative of 
American History, 1861-1898 (1903). 

Reinsch, P. S., Readings on American Federal Government (1909). 

Richardson, J. D., A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presi¬ 
dents, 1789-1897 (1896-1899, 10 vols.). 

Thayer, J. B., Cases on Constitutional Law; with Notes (1895, 2 vols.). 

Thorpe, F. N., The Federal and State Constitutions (1909, 7 vols.). 

Constitutional and Governmental Histories 

Channing, Edward, A Student's History of the United States (1905). 

Hart, A. B., ed.. Epochs of American History, including Thwaites, R. G., 
The Colonies; Hart, A. B., Formation of the Union; Wilson, W., Division 
and Reunion (1897-1898, 3 vols.). 

- The American Nation; A History (1907, 27 vols.). 

Landon, J. S., The Constitutional History and Government of the United 
States (1905). 

McMaster, J. B., History of the People of the United States from the Revolu¬ 
tion to the Civil War (1901). 

Schouler, James, History of the United States of America under the Constitu¬ 
tion (1906, 6 vols.). 

Sparks, E. E., The United States of America (1904, 2 vols.). 

Thorpe, F. N., Constitutional History of the United States, 1765-1895 
(1901, 3 vols.). 





APPENDIX 


xxi 


Constitutional Treatises on American Government 

Black, II. C., Handbook of American Constitutional Law (1897). 

Cooley, Thomas M., Principles of Constitutional Law (1898). 

Kent, James, Commentaries on American Law (14th ed., 1896, 4 vols.). 
McClain, E., Constitutional Law in the United States (1905). 

Story, Joseph, Commentaries on the Cojistitution of the United States (5th 
ed., 1905, 2 vols.). 

Tucker, John R.?The Constitution of the United States (1899, 2 vols.). 

General Works on American Government 

Ashley, R. L., The American Federal State (1903). 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics (1910). 

Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth (1907, 2 vols.). 

Goodnow, F. J., Comparative Administrative Law (Student’s Abridged ed., 
1903). 

Hart, A. B., Actual Government (1903). 

Lalor, John J., Cyclopedia of Political Science (1899). 

Schouler, James, Constitutional Studies, State and Federal (1904). 
Willoughby, W. W., The American Constitutional System (1904). 

Wilson, Woodrow, The State (1906). 

Young, James D., The New American Government and its Work (1915). 

Rural Local Government 

Fairlie, J. A., Local Government in Counties, Towns, and Villages (1906). 
Howard, G. E., Introduction to the Local Constitutional History of the United 
States (1889). 


Municipal Government 

Goodnow, Frank J., City Government in the United States (1904). 

Fairlie, J. A., Municipal Administration (1901). 

Rowe, L. S., Problems of City Government (1908). 

Wilcox, Delos F., The American City; A Problem in Democracy (1904). 
Zueblin, Charles, American Municipal Progress (1903). 

State Government 

Baldwin, S. E., The American Judiciary (1905). 

Bliss, W. D. P., and others, eds.. Cyclopedia of Social Reform (1908). 
Blackman, F. W., Economics for High Schools (1907). 

Butler, Wilson R., Government in the New England States (1905). 

Cooley, Thomas M., Constitutional Limitations (1890). 

Dealey, J. Q., Our State Constitutions (1907). 

Ely, R. T., Taxation in American States and Cities (1888). 

Finley, J. H., and Sanderson, J. F., The American Executive and Executive 
Methods (1908). 

Plehn, Carl, Introduction to Public Finance (1897). 

Reinsch, P. S., American Legislatures and Legislative Methods (1907). 

State Governments, Handbooks of, edited by Evans, L. B.: Government 
of New York, Morey, W. C. (1902); Government of Ohio, Siebert, W. H. 
(1904); Government of Illinois, Greene, E. B. (1904); Government of 
Maine, Macdonald, Wm. (1902). 

Wright, Carroll D., Outline of Practical Sociology (1899). 


XXII 


APPENDIX 


ft 


The Federal Government 

Brewer, David J., The United States Supreme Court (1903). 

Dewey, D. R., Financial History of the United States (1903). 

Fairlie, J. A., The National Administration of the United States of America 
(1905). 

Follett, M. P., The Speaker of the House of Representatives (1904). 
Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, The Federalist (Lodge, H. C., ed., 1904). 
Harrison, B., This Country of Ours (1903). 

McConachie, L. G., Congressional Committees (1898). 

Rhodes, J. F., The Presidential Office (1903). 

Tiedemann, C. G., The Unwritten Constitution of the United States (1890). 
Various authors, History-Making: The Story of a Great Nation (1910). 
Willoughby, W. W., Territories and Dependencies of the United States (1905). 
Wilson, Woodrow, Constitutional Government in the United States (1908). 
Woodburn, J. A., The American Republic and its Government (1903). 

Political Parties and Elections 

Dallinger, F. W., Nominations for Elective Office in the United States (1897). 
Ford, H. J., The Rise and Growth of American Politics (1898). 

Fuller, R. H., Government by the People (1908). 

Goodnow, F. J., Politics and, Administration (1900). 

Johnston, Alexander, History of American Politics (1902). 

Macy, Jesse, Party Organization and Machinery (1904). 

Merriam, C. E., Primary Elections (1908). 

Stanwood, E., History of the Presidency (1904). 

Woodburn, J. A., Political Parties and Party Problems in the United States 
(1909). 


INDEX 


(References are to pages of text) 


Adjournment of Congress, 161, 193. 

Adjutant-General, State, 62. 

Administrative departments, city, 
25-26; State, 60-63; national, 198- 
208. 

Administrative law, 53, 66. 

Administrators, appointment of, 69. 

Admission of States, 44,. 271-272. 

Agriculture, State department of, 62, 
86; federal department of, 205-206. 

Alabama, 5, 49, 102, 157, 310. 

Alaska, 131, 154, 204, 263, 310; gov¬ 
ernment of, 266-267. 

Aliens, 285-287. 

Allegheny, 35. 

Ambassadors, appointment and re¬ 
ception of, 191-192, 257; classes, 
term, salary, 257-258; duties and 
privileges, 258-259. 

Amendment process, under State 
constitutions, 44-46; under fed¬ 
eral constitution, 127; analysis of 
federal amendments, 128-129. 

American Republics, Bureau of, 207. 

Annapolis Academy, the, 106, 203, 
281 

Annexations, territorial, 262-264. 

Anti-Trust Act of 1890, 252-253. 
See Trusts. 

Appeals, in State courts, 68, 73; in 
federal courts, 213-214; federal 
circuit courts of appeals, 213. 

Appointment to office, municipal, 
25-26; State, 58, 62-64; federal, 
132, 187-192. 

Apportionment, for State legislatures, 
48; for United States Representa¬ 
tives, 154-156. 

Appropriations, municipal, 20; State, 
107-108; federal, 219-222. 

Arbitration, State boards of, 87. 

Arizona, 60, 155, 263, 267, 272, 310; 
former territorial government, 
267-268. 


Arkansas, 309, 310. 

Army, United States, 276-280. 

Arrest, warrant for, 77. 

Articles of Confederation, 120, 264. 

Assessments, special, 20-21. 

Assessor, county, 5, 13; town, 4; 
township, 8, 10; city, 25. 

Attorney, 70; prosecuting (State), 
4, 5, 12, 61-62, 70; federal district 
attorney, 189, 216. 

Attorney-General, State, 61-62, 70; 
federal, 201-202, 209, 216. 

Auditor, county, 5, 12; State, 61. 

Australian ballot, 312-315. 

Bail, 78. 

Balances, checks and, 43. 

Ballot, Australian, 312-315. 

Banking, State commissioner of, 62. 

Bankruptcy, 250, 287. 

Banks, State, 90, 235-236; national, 
226, 236, 250; First United States 
Bank, 234; Second United States 
Bank, 235. 

Belligerents, 256. 

Bicameral legislature, 48, 146. 

Bill of Rights, State, 41; federal, 128. 

Bills, introduction of, in State legis¬ 
lature, 50-51; in Congress, 168. 

Bimetallism, 232-233. 

Boards, municipal, 26, 30, 31, 32; 
county, 4-5, 11, 13, 93; State, 
63. 

Bond issues, municipal, 21; State, 
117; national, 227. 

Borrowing power: of municipal gov¬ 
ernments, 21; of State govern¬ 
ments, 117; of the national govern¬ 
ment, 226-228. 

“Boss,” party, 296-297. 

Bridges, construction of, 93. 

Budget, preparation of federal, 221- 
222 . 

Business taxes, 114-116. 





XXIV 


INDEX 


Cabinet, under parliamentary gov¬ 
ernment, 199; in United States, 
133, 198-199. 

Calendar, legislative, 168. 

California, 13, 18, 60, 63, 98, 99, 100, 
157, 263, 266, 286, 310. 

Canals, 93-94. 

Candidates, for State office, 301- 
302; for local offices, 300-301; 
presidential candidates, 306-308. 
See Conventions and Primary. 

Capital, the national. See Washing¬ 
ton, D.C. 

Capitation tax, 115. 

Caucus, nominations by, 299-300; 
legislative caucus, 164, note 1; 
303. 

Cemetery trustees, 4. 

Census, bureau of, 206; apportion¬ 
ment after decennial census, 155. 

Certificates, gold and silver, 234. 

Chairman. See Committees, party. 

“Challenges,” in selection of jury, 
72. 

“Charge,” of judge to jury, 73. 

Charities, administration of, and 
methods of poor relief, 33; cost of 
charities, 108. 

Charter, municipal, 18. 

Checks and balances, 43. 

Chicago, 26, 28, 35, 236. 

Child labor, 87. 

Chinese, exclusion of, 246; naturali¬ 
zation of, forbidden, 286, note 1; 
310, note 3. 

Circuit court, State, 68. See Judi¬ 
ciary. 

Circuit courts of appeals, federal, 
213. 

Citizenship, admission to, 285-286; 
privileges of, 286-287. 

City, definition of, 15; dual char¬ 
acter of, 15; origin and develop¬ 
ment of, 15-16; problems of, lb- 
18; tenements, 17; city-planning, 
17; incorporation and charters, 18; 
two leading types of city govern¬ 
ment, 18; powers of, 20-22; rela¬ 
tion to State governments, 18; 
municipal home rule, 18; fran¬ 
chises, 22, 29; commission govern¬ 
ment, 26-27; city manager plan, 
28; improvements in government 
of, 28-29; council, see Council; 


mayor, 23-25; administrative of¬ 
ficials of, 25-26; taxation in, 20- 
21; civil service, 26, 28; police sys¬ 
tem, 30; fire protection, 30; health 
department, 31; education in, 31- 
32; parks and playgrounds, 32-33; 
poor relief in, 33; streets and sew¬ 
ers, 33-34; water-supply, 35; 
lighting, 35; street railways, 35- 
36; municipal monopolies, prob¬ 
lem of, 36-37; municipal owner¬ 
ship, 37-38; courts, 67-68; con¬ 
centration of immigrants in, 247- 
248. 

Civil actions, procedure in, 71-73. 

Civil service, municipal, 26, 28; 
State, 63-64; federal, 189-191. 

Civil War pensions. See Pensions. 

Claims, federal court of, 215. 

Clerk, county, 4, 5,12; town, 4; town¬ 
ship, 8, 10; of State courts, 13. 

Codification of the law, 66. 

Coinage, 231-233. 

Collectors, of local taxes, 4, 5, 12; 
of customs duties, 224; of excises 
or internal revenue taxes, 225. 

Colleges and universities, 98-100. 

Colonies, charters of, 40; executive 
in, 42; judiciary in, 42. 

Colorado, 13, 18, 60, 63, 263, 310. 

Columbia, District of, acquisition 
and government of, 268-269; 
courts of, 215. 

Columbus, Ohio, 146. 

Comity, interstate, 75. 

Commander-in-chief, power of Presi¬ 
dent as, 184-186. 

Commerce, discussion of, in Consti¬ 
tutional Convention, 122; com- 
merical powers under the constitu¬ 
tion, 131, 243; navigation, 243- 
244; river and harbor improve¬ 
ments, 244-245; tariff duties, 223- 
224, 245-246; immigration, 246- 
248; postal system, 249; banks 
and currency, 249; weights and 
measures, 250; railway transpor¬ 
tation, 250-252; Anti-Trust Acts, 
252-254; Interstate Commerce 
Commission, 249-254; Federal 
Trade Commission, 207, 253; state 
regulations affecting commerce, 
89-95. 

Commerce, Department of, 198,206. 




INDEX 


XXV 


Commission government, in cities, 
26-27. 

Commissioner, county, 4, 11, 13, 93. 

Commissions, municipal boards or, 
26, 30, 31, 32; State commissions, 
63. 

Committee system, in city councils, 
22; in State legislatures, 50-51; 
committee of the whole, 51; com¬ 
mittees in Congress, 133, 166-168; 
conference committees, 169. 

Committees, party, 294-296. 

Common law, 67. See Law. 

Common pleas, court of, 68. 

Compromise type of local govern¬ 
ment, 6-13. 

Compromises of constitution, 121- 
123. 

Comptroller, city, 25; county, 12; 
State, 61. 

Compulsory education, 104. 

Concurrent powers, 137, 140. 

Confederation, Articles of, 120, 264. 

Conference committees, 169. 

Congress, United States, contrast 
with powers of State legislatures, 
52; usages affecting, 133-134; 
sessions, 161; internal organiza¬ 
tion, 162-163; quorum, 163, 166; 
president of Senate, 163; Speaker 
of House, 164-166; committees 
of Congress, 166-168; process of 
legislation, 168-169; relations with 
President, 169-170,193-195; limi¬ 
tation on powers of, 170-171; ex¬ 
press powers of, 171; implied pow¬ 
ers of, 171-172, compensation and 
privileges of members, 149. See 
Senate, House of Representatives. 

Congressional Government, 147. 

Congressional Library, 207. 

Congressional Record, the, 163. 

Connecticut, 5, 40, 59, 63, 69, 103, 
121, 157, 264, 265, 310. 

Connecticut Compromise, 121. 

Conservation of natural resources, 
85, 206. 

Constable, 4, 5, 8, 10, 13. 

Constitution, federal, call of con¬ 
vention to frame, 119; the framing 
of, 120-124; compromises of, 121- 
123; sources of, 124; ratification 
of, 125; contrasted with Articles of 
Confederation, 120; amendments 


of, 127-129; bill of rights, 128; 
interpretation of, 129-131; de¬ 
velopment of, through usage, 
131-134; limitations imposed by, 
on State governments, 53; duties 
of State governor under, 59-60. 

Constitution, State, formation of, 
40, 44-45; parts of, 40-41; bill 
of rights, 41; development of, 43- 
44; amendment of, 45-46; author¬ 
ity of, 46; interpretation of, 73; 
limitations of, upon legislative 
power, 53; individual rights un¬ 
der, 78-79. 

Constitutional Convention, the, 119— 
126. 

Constitutionality of legislation, pow¬ 
er of State courts to decide, 73; 
power of federal courts, 123, 139, 
216-217. 

Consuls, appointment and tenure, 
259-280; classes and salary, 
259; duties and privileges, 260. 

Contested elections, in Congress, 
162. 

Contract labor, exclusion of, 246. 

Contracts, obligation of, 141. 

Convention of 1787, 119-126. 

Conventions, party, 294; local, 300- 
301; State, 301-302; national, 303— 
307. 

Conventions, State constitutional, 
45. 

Copyrights, 287-288. 

Coroner, 5, 12. 

Corporations, characteristics and de¬ 
velopment of, 88-89; State regu¬ 
lation of, 89-92; method of organi¬ 
zation, 89; banks, 90; insurance 
companies, 90; railroads, 90-91; 
industrial combinations and trusts, 
90-92; quasi-public corporations, 
36-37; taxation of, 114-115; fed¬ 
eral control of, 250-254. See 
Banks, Railroads, Trusts. 

Council, city, size of, 19; number of 
chambers, 19; election of mem¬ 
bers, 19; powers of, 20-22; quali¬ 
fications, term, and salary of mem¬ 
bers, 19; procedure in, 22; com¬ 
mittees of, 22. 

Counterfeiting, 289-290. 

County, development of, in New 
England, 4; at the South. 5; pres- 



XXVI 


INDEX 


ent county government in New 
England, 4; origin of, in Central 
States, 6; officers of, 4-5, 11-13; 
commissioners, 4-5, 11; county 
court, 5. 

Court, definition of, 71. See Judi¬ 
ciary. 

Cremators, 34. 

Crime, definition of, 77; classifica¬ 
tion of, 77; repression of, 82; crimi¬ 
nal procedure, 77-80; treatment of 
criminals, 81-82; federal power 
over crime, 289-291. 

Cuba, 264. 

Cumulative voting in Illinois, 49. 

Currency. See Finance, federal. 

Customs duties. See Tariff duties. 

Dayton, city-manager plan in, 28. 

Debate, in the House of Representa¬ 
tives, 168; in the Senate, 168-169. 

Debt, State and local, 117; national 
debt, 228. See Borrowing power. 

Defendant, in civil cases, 71-72; in 
criminal cases, 78-80. 

Delaware, 11, 69, 121, 125, 155, 157, 
264, 310. 

Delegates, territorial, 154, 268, 271. 

Delinquent taxes, 114. 

Democratic party, 246, 293, 303,305. 

Departments, federal, 198-207; rela¬ 
tions with Congress, 170; State 
departments, 61-63. 

Dependencies. See Territories. 

Deposition, testimony by, 75. 

Des Moines, commission government 
in, 26, 27. 

Detroit, 35. 

Dilatory motions, 166. 

Diplomatic representatives. See Am¬ 
bassadors, Foreign affairs. 

Direct legislation, 46, 54-55. 

Direct nominations. See Nomina¬ 
tions. 

Direct taxes, 110, 226. 

Disease, suppression of. See Health, 
boards of. 

District attorneys. United States, 
189, 216. 

District court, 211-213. See Judi¬ 
ciary, federal. 

District of Columbia, acquisition 
and government of, 268-269; 
courts of, 215. 


Districts, congressional, 155-156. 

Dollar, coinage of the, 232-233. 

Domain, public, 204-205, 264. 

Duties, tariff, as a form of tax, 223- 
224; as commercial regulations, 
245-246; excises or internal rev¬ 
enue duties, 200, 224-225. 

Economic functions of State govern¬ 
ments, 84-95. 

Education, county superintendent 
of, 5, 13; in cities, 16-17, 31-32; 
State supervision of, 89; State and 
local systems, 10-11, 96-104; 

federal aid to, 105-106; federal 
bureau of, 105, 203. 

Educational test for voters, 310. 

Eight-hour day, 87. 

Elastic clause," 130-131, 171-172. 

Elections, national, State, and local, 
309, 311-315; separation of state 
and local, 28, 309; congressional, 
158; presidential, 176-178; quali¬ 
fications for voting, 176, 309-310. 

Electors, presidential, 174-177, 307. 

Electric lighting in cities, 35. 

Eleventh amendment, 128. 

Emancipation Proclamation, 185. 

Eminent domain, 21. 

Enabling act, 272. 

Engineer, State, 62. 

Envoys. See Ambassadors. 

Epidemics, prevention of. See Health, 
boards of. 

Equalization, boards of, 13, 112. 

Error, writs of, 68, 73. 

Evidence in civil cases, 72, 73; in 
criminal cases, 80. 

Excise taxes, 200, 224-225. 

Exclusive powers, 137, 140. 

Execution, writ of, 73. 

Executive Council, in Porto Rico, 
270-271; in the Philippines, 271. 

Executive departments, federal, 198- 
207. See the several departments. 

Executive sessions, of State Senate, 
151; of United States Senate, 
151. 

Executive, State, in early period, 42; 
increased powers of, 43; election 
and term of, 57-58; qualifications 
and salary, 58; powers of, 52, 58- 
60; judicial control over, 74; du¬ 
ties of, under federal constitution. 



INDEX 


xxvii 


59-60; contrast with President’s 
powers, 57. 

Expenditure. See Finance. 

Experiment Stations, agricultural, 
205. 

Exports, duties on, forbidden, 245. 

Express powers of federal govern¬ 
ment, 137-138, 171. 

Extradition, 59-60. 

Factory inspector. State, 62, 86-87; 
factory legislation, 87. 

Federal government, 1; federal law, 
supremacy of, 138-139; federal 
powers, 137-138. See National 
Government. 

Federal Reserve System, 239-241. 

Federal Trade Commission, 207, 253. 

Federalists, the, 125. 

Felonies, 77. 

“Filibustering” in Congress, 166, 
168. 

Finance, federal, powers of Congress 
over, 131; objects of expenditures, 
220; control of expenditures, 219- 
222; revenues, 222-227; taxing 
power, 222-223; import duties, 

223- 224,245-246; excise taxes, 200, 

224- 225; income taxes, 225; direct 
taxes, 110, 226; borrowing power, 
226-228; money, 231-239, 249; 
banking system, 234-236; national 
debt, 227-228; government paper 
money, 237-239; independent 
treasury system, 236; federal re¬ 
serve system, 239-241; pensions, 
204, 282-283. 

Finance, local, powers of city coun¬ 
cil over, 20-21; taxing power of 
town meeting, 3-4, 8; of county 
commissioners, 11; general prop¬ 
erty tax, 111-114; license and fran¬ 
chise taxes, 21, 115-116. 

Finance, State, expenditures, 107- 
108; revenues, 109-110; school 
revenues, 104-105; classification of 
taxes, 110; general property tax, 
111-114; other taxes, 114-116; 
reforms in taxation, 116; State and 
local debts, 117. 

Fire department, in cities, 30. 

Fire-marshal, State, 62. 

Fish and game.laws, 85-86. 

Florida, 69, 102, 263, 310. 


Food and dairy commissioner, 62. 

Food products, inspection of, 31. 

Foreign affairs, 191-193, 256-260. 

Forestry, scientific, 85, 206. 

Fourteenth amendment, 129. 

Franchise, the elective. See Suffrage. 

Franchises, municipal, 22, 29, 36. 

Free coinage, 232-233; free silver, 
232-233. 

Free Trade. See Tariff duties. 

Full faith and credit clause, 144. 

Gadsen Purchase, the, 131, 263. 

Galveston, commission government 

^ in, 26. 

Game laws, 85-86. 

Garbage disposal, 34. 

General property tax, 111-114. 

General staff, the, 201. 

Geologist, State, 62. 

Georgia, 42, 49, 102, 309. 

Gerrymander, 156-157. 

Gold, coinage of, 232-233. 

Government, distribution of powers 
of, 1; checks and balances in, 43; 
rural, 1-13; municipal, 15-38; 
State, 40-117; federal, 119-315. 
See States, Local government, 
National government. 

Governor. See Executive, State. 

Grand jury, 67, 77-78. 

Grand Rapids, 28, 35. 

Greenbacks, 234, 237, 239. 

Guam, 263, 270. 

Guardians, appointment of, 69. 

Habeas corpus, writ of, 78,184, 216. 

Hamilton, Alexander, 119. 

Harbors, improvement of, 244-245. 

Hawaii, 154, 263, 286; government 
of, 270. 

Health, county board of, 13; city 
department of, 31; State boards of, 
31. 

High schools, 98. 

Highways, public, 92-93; overseers 
of, 4, 5, 8, 10. 

Home rule, municipal, 18. 

Homestead Act, 204. 

House of Representatives, (federal) 
residence of members, 133, 159; 
apportionment, 154-155; gerry¬ 
mander, 156; elections to, 158; 
term and qualifications of mem- 




INDEX 


xxviii 

bers, 158-159; rights and privi¬ 
leges of members, 159; special 
powers of the House, 159; Speaker 
of, 133, 164-166; debate in, 168; 
committees of, 133, 166-168; com¬ 
mittee on rules, 166. See Congress, 
United States. 

House of Representatives (in State 
governments). See Legislature, 
State. 

Idaho, 60, 310. 

Illinois, 8, 9, 11, 49, 63, 68, 100, 186, 
264, 310. 

Immigration, 246-248; State com¬ 
missioner of, 62. 

Impeachment, State process of, 60; 
federal process of, 151-152, 170, 
195. 

Imperialism, issue of, in American 
politics, 293. 

Implied powers, of federal govern¬ 
ment, 138, 171-172. 

Import duties, 223-224, 245-246. 

Inauguration, presidential, 178-179. 

Income tax, State, 115; federal, 
225. 

Incorporation, of cities, 18; of busi¬ 
ness corporations, 89. 

Independent voting, 297, 308-309. 

Indeterminate sentence, 81. 

Indian affairs, 204. 

Indiana, 8, 9, 11, 59, 99, 101, 264, 
310. 

Indictment, 62, 78. 

Individual rights, protection of, 41, 
128, 141. 

Inferior officers, of federal govern¬ 
ment, 187-191. 

Information, 62, 78. 

Inheritance tax, State, 114. 

Initiative, in State government, 46, 
55. 

Injunction, writ of, 75. 

Insular territories. See Territories. 

Insurance, regulation of, 90; State 
commissioner of, 62. 

Intention, declaration of, 285. 

Interior, Department of, 203-205. 

Internal improvements, 244-245. 

Internal revenue duties, 200, 224- 
225; commissioner of, 224. 

International law, offenses against, 
289-290. 


International relations, 191-193, 

256-260. 

Interpretation, constitutional. See 
Constitutionality of legislation. 

Interstate commerce. See Com¬ 
merce. 

Interstate Commerce Commission, 
207, 251-252; Federal Trade Com¬ 
mission, 207, 253. 

Interstate relations, 143-145. 

Intervention, federal, 185-186. 

Inventions, patents for, 203, 288. 

Iowa, 8, 9, 11, 310. 

Irrigation, 205. 

Isthmian Canal, the, 245, 264, 267. 

Jails, 81. 

Japanese laborers, exclusion of, 246. 

Johnson, Andrew, 152. 

Journals, legislative: State, 51; con¬ 
gressional, 162-163. 

Judges, county, 5, 12; police, in 
cities, 25; State judges, choice and 
tenure of, 69; salary and qualifica¬ 
tions of, 70; duties of, 73-74; fed¬ 
eral, see Judiciary, federal. 

Judiciary, State, in early period, 42; 
inferior courts, 67; courts of gen¬ 
eral original jurisdiction, 68; 
courts of last resort, 68; special 
State courts, 68-69; probate 
courts, 69; selection, tenure, qual¬ 
ifications, and salary of judges, 
69-70; subordinate officers of 
courts, 70; procedure in civil cases, 
71-73; power to decide upon con¬ 
stitutionality of legislation, 73-74; 
control of executive officials, 74- 
75; relation to federal courts, 75; 
interstate judicial relations, 75; 
writs of injunction and mandamus, 
74-75. 

Judiciary, federal, relation to State 
courts, 75; limitations of power by 
eleventh amendment, 128; estab¬ 
lishment and organization of, 209; 
jurisdiction of, 210-211; appoint¬ 
ment, term, and compensation 
of judges, 209-210 ; district courts, 
209, 212-213; circuit courts of ap¬ 
peals, 209, 213; Supreme Court, 
209, 213-214; special courts, 215; 
territorial courts, 215; interpreta¬ 
tion of law by, 215-217; power to 




INDEX 


XXIX 


decide constitutionality of legis¬ 
lation, 123, 216-217. 

Jurisdiction, original and appellate, 

68 . 

Jury, petit, 72-73,79-80; grand jury, 
67, 77-78. 

Justice, Department of, 198,201-202. 

Justices of the peace, 5, 8, 10, 13; 
mayor’s powers as, 25; justices’ 
courts, 67. 

Juvenile courts, 82. 

Kansas, 8, 9, 11, 60, 310. 

Kentucky, 68, 240, 266, 310. 

Labor, State legislation concerning, 
86-87; Department of Labor, 206- 
207. 

Lands, public, of State governments, 
84-85; of federal government,204- 
205, 269-270. 

Lands and forests, State commission¬ 
er of, 62. 

Law, common, 67; private, 53; ad¬ 
ministrative, 53; our system of, 
66-67; enforcement of, 12, 59, 
184-186; civil procedure, 71—73; 
criminal procedure, 78-80; martial 
law, 184, 282; international law, 
289-290. 

Legislation, federal. See Congress. 

Legislation, State, process of, 50-52; 
special, for cities, 18; governor’s 
veto upon, 52; scope of, 52-53; 
limitations upon, 53-54; uncon¬ 
stitutional, 73-74. 

Legislature, municipal. See Council. 

Legislature, State: early period, 41- 
42; proposal of constitutional 
amendments by, 45; two houses 
of, 48; election districts for, 48; 
minority representation in, 48; 
members, qualifications, term, and 
salary, 49; privileges of members, 
50; sessions of, 49-50; process of 
legislation, 50-52; committees of, 
50; journal, 50; powers of, 52-53; 
limitations upon powers, 44, 53- 
54; governor’s veto, 52; relation 
to governor, 59. 

Liberal construction, 130-131, 171- 
172. 

Libraries, city, 32; State librarian, 
62. 


License taxes, 21, 115. 

Lieutenant-Governor, 50, 60-61. 

Lighting, public, in cities, 35. 

Lincoln, Abraham, 131. 

Loans. See Borrowing power. 

Local governments, relation of, to 
State governments, 1-2; central¬ 
ized and decentralized systems of, 
2; dual character of, 2, 15; classi¬ 
fication of, 2. 

Local government, municipal. See 
City. 

Local government, rural, 1-13; pres¬ 
ent system of, in New England, 3- 
4; at the South, 5; in the Central 
and Western States, 6-13; town¬ 
ship-county systems of, 6-10; func¬ 
tions of, 4-5, 7-13. 

Los Angeles, 28. 

Louisiana, 5, 60, 68, 102, 131, 157, 
186, 262, 309, 310. 

Louisiana Purchase, the, 131, 262. 

McCulloch v. Maryland, 235. 

Machine, the party, 296-297. 

Madison, James, 119, 120. 

Mail matter. See Postal service. 

Maine, 69, 99, 100, 101, 157, 158, 
266, 309, 310. 

Mandamus, 62, 74. 

Manual training, 97. 

Marque and reprisal, letters of, 276. 

Marshals, federal, 187, 189, 216. 

Martial law, 184, 282. 

Maryland, 11, 98, 102, 264, 268. 

Massachusetts, 26, 28, 30, 40, 48, 49, 
63, 69, 82, 98, 101, 103, 115, 157, 
235, 264, 265, 310. 

Mayor, election, term, and salary, 
23; powers, legislative, adminis¬ 
trative, and judicial, 23-25; the 
“responsible” mayor, 24. 

Message, mayor’s, 23; governor’s, 59; 
President’s, 193-194. 

Metric system, 289. 

Merit system. See Civil Service. 

Mexican cessions, 263. 

Mexican War, 131. 

Michigan, 8, 9,11,18, 60, 82, 99, 264, 
310. 

Military Academy, United States, 
106, 201, 278-279. 

Military functions, of federal govern¬ 
ment, 275-283; military officers, 





XXX 


INDEX 


201, 278-279; militia, 12, 59, 184- 
186, 279-280; navy, 203, 280-282; 
pensions, 204, 282-283; military 
sites, 269. 

Military powers, of sheriff, 12; of 
mayor, 25; of governor, 59; of 
President, 184-186. 

Militia, 12, 59, 184-186, 279-280. 

Milwaukee, 26. 

Ministers, foreign. See Ambassadors. 

Minnesota, 8, 9, 11, 18, 98, 100, 310. 

Minority representation, 48. 

Misdemeanors, 77. 

Mississippi, 49, 69, 102, 115, 157, 
310. 

Mississippi River, improvement of, 
245. 

Missouri, 8, 9, 13, 18, 68, 310. 

Money, 231-239, 249. See Finance, 
federal. 

Monometallism, 231-233. 

Monopolies, municipal, 36-37; State 
control of, 90-91; capitalistic, 92; 
federal control of, 250-254. 

Montana, 310. 

Morris, Gouverneur, 124. 

Mortgage tax, 114. 

Municipality. See City. 

National banks, 226, 236. 

National committees, of political 
parties, 294-296, 303. 

National conventions, call, 303; pro¬ 
cedure in, 304-307. 

National government, sphere of ac¬ 
tivity, 1; relation to States, 136- 
145; limitations on powers of, 128, 
140. See Congress, President, 
Judiciary, Government (federal), 
Executive departments, etc. 

National Guard. See Militia. 

Natural resources, preservation of, 
85, 206. 

Naturalization, 285-287. 

Naval Academy, United States, 106, 
203, 281. 

Navigation, 93-94, 243-245. 

Navy, Department of, 203, 280-281. 

Nebraska, 6, 8, 9, 11, 100, 310. 

Neutrality, offenses against, 290. 

Nevada, 13, 60, 100, 146, 155, 175, 
310. 

New England, town government of. 

See Towns. 


New Hampshire, 5, 40 , 45, 69, 101 , 

125, 152, 157, 310. 

New Jersey, 8, 11, 33, 40, 49, 59, 
63, 68, 69,101,120, 121, 123, 264, 
310. 

New Jersey plan, in Constitutional 
Convention, 120, 123. 

New Mexico, 263, 267, 272, 286, 310; 
former territorial government, 
267-268. 

New Orleans, 26, 28. 

New York City, 125, 236. 

New York (State), 6, 8, 9,11, 26, 28, 
30, 49, 63, 68, 84, 85,103,114,125, 
144, 146, 175, 264, 265, 310. 

Nominations, methods of, 299; local, 
299-301; State, 301-302; presiden¬ 
tial, 303-307; direct, 297, 308; by 
petition, 299, 308-309. 

North Carolina, 5, 43, 52, 59, 102, 
115, 125, 157, 310. 

North Dakota, 8, 9, 11, 13, 60, 310. 

Northwest Territory, history of, 264- 
266. 

Notes, United States, 237-239; na¬ 
tional bank notes, 236; federal re¬ 
serve notes, 239-240; State bank 
notes, 235-236. 

Oath of office, presidential, 178. 

Officers, State: elective, 57-62; ap¬ 
pointive, 63-64; federal, appoin¬ 
tive, 132, 186-191. 

Ohio, 8, 9, 11, 18, 26, 28, 30, 63, 68, 
82, 105, 240, 264, 310. 

Oklahoma, 18, 115, 310. 

Ordinance of 1784, 265; Ordinance 
of 1785, 6; Ordinance of 1787, 265- 
266. 

Ordinances, municipal, 22-23. 

Oregon, 13, 18, 46, 55, 60, 158, 263, 
309, 310. 

Overseers of highways, 4, 5, 8,10, 93. 

Overseers of the poor, 4, 5, 9, 10. 

Panama Canal, 245, 264, 267. 

Paper money. See Notes. 

Pardons, governor’s power over, 59; 
President’s power over, 195. 

Parks, city, 32-33. 

Parliamentary government, 147. 

Parties, political, functions of, 293- 
294; organization of, 294-296; 
party issues since 1860, 293; party 





INDEX 


XXXI 


platforms, 302, 306. See Conven¬ 
tions, party. 

Party system, influence of, upon 
government, 132-134; upon elec¬ 
tion of President, 132, 177-178. 

Patents, 203, 288. 

Patronage, federal, 132, 189-191. 

Paving, in cities, 34. 

Penitentiaries, 81. 

Pennsylvania, 8, 9,11, 42, 68, 69, 84, 
103, 144, 240. 

Pensions, military, 204, 282-283. 

Personal property taxes, 111-114, 
116. 

Petition, nomination by, 299, 308- 
309. 

Philadelphia, 28, 236. 

Philippines, 154, 263, 286; govern¬ 
ment of, 271. 

Piracy, 290. 

Plaintiff, in civil cases, 71-72. 

Platform, party. See Parties, polit¬ 
ical. 

Playgrounds, municipal, 32-33. 

Pleadings, in civil cases, 72. 

“Pocket-veto,” by the governor, 52; 
by the President, 194. 

Police administration in cities, 30, 
67. 

Police power, of city council, 20. 

Politics. See Parties. 

Poll tax, 115. 

Polygamy, 272. 

Pools, railway, 91, 250-252. 

Poor, overseers of, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11; 
poor relief in cities, 33. 

Popular election of Senators, 148. 

Porto Rico, 154, 263, 286; govern¬ 
ment of, 270-271. 

Posse comitatus, 12. 

Postal savings banks, 203. 

Post Office Department, 202-203; 
postal system, 249. 

Powers, division of, between federal 
and State governments, 1, 136- 
137; between State and local gov¬ 
ernments, 1; checks and balances, 
43. 

President, inauguration of, 125; 
political usages affecting, 132-133, 
177-178; relations of, to Congress, 
169-170; election of, 174-178; 
term, salary, and qualifications of, 
179-180; military powers of, 184- 


186; diplomatic powers of, 191- 
193; legislative powers of, 193-195; 
judicial powers of, 195-196; veto 
power, 169, 194; powers of ap¬ 
pointment and removal, 186-191; 
nomination of candidates for, 
303-307; succession to Presidency, 
180-181; electors, presidential, 
174-177, 307. 

President pro tempore of Senate, 
163-164. 

Previous question, in House of 
Representatives, 168. 

Primary, party, 299-300. 

Printing, State superintendent of, 
62; federal printing-office, 207. 

Prisons and prison methods, 81. 

Private law, 53. See Law. 

Private rights, under federal constitu¬ 
tion, 128, 140. 

Privateering, 276. 

Privileges and immunities of citizens, 
143-144. 

Privileges, of States in the Union, 
141-142. 

Prize courts, 276. 

Probate courts, 12, 69. 

Probation officers, 82. 

Procedure, civil, 71-73; criminal, 77- 
80. 

Procedure, in city councils, 22; in 
State legislatures, 49-52; in Con¬ 
gress, 1G8-169. 

Proclamations, presidential, 184,193. 

Progressive taxation, 115. 

Prohibitions, upon State govern¬ 
ments, 141; upon federal govern¬ 
ment, 128, 140; upon Congress, 
270-271. 

Property, protection of, 71. 

Proportional representation, 48. 

Prosecution of criminals. See Crime. 

Protection. See Tariff duties. 

Public domain, 204-205, 264. 

Public works, State superintendent 
of, 63, 94. 

Qualifications for suffrage, 49, 287, 
309-311. 

Quarantine, 249. 

Quartermaster-General, 201. 

Quorum, in State legislature, 51; in 
Congress, 163, 166. 

Quo warranto, 62. 



XXX11 


INDEX 


Railroads, State regulation of, 90- 
91, 251; federal regulation of, 251- 
253. 

Railways, street, 35-36. 

Rates, railway. See Railroads. 

Real estate, tax on, 111-114. 

Recall, 27, 60. 

Reclamation service, 205. 

Reconstruction, theories of, 273; re¬ 
construction amendments, 129. 

Recorder, county, 5, 13. 

Recreation, in cities, 32-33. 

Referendum, State, 46, 54-55. 

Reformatories, 82. 

Register of deeds. See Recorder. 

Registration, 311. 

Removal, governor’s power of, 58; 
President’s power of, 188-189. 

Representatives, House of. See 
House of Representatives. 

Reprieve, 59, 196. 

Republican party, policies of, 293. 

Requisition, governor’s power to 
issue writs of, 59-60. 

Reservations, Indian, 270. 

Reserve system, federal, 239-241. 

Reserves, forest, 85, 206. 

Responsibility, official, of mayor, 24- 
25, 28; of governor, 57; of Presi¬ 
dent, 183-188, 191-192, 193-195. 

Resumption of specie payments, 239. 

Revenues. See Finance. 

Rhode Island, 40, 49, 69, 125, 186, 
264. 

“Riders” in legislation, 170. 

Rights, protection of individual, 41, 
128, 141. 

River and harbor improvements, 
244-245. 

Roads, overseers of, 4, 5, 8, 10, 93; 
construction and maintenance of 
roads, 92-93. 

Rules, of House of Representatives, 
165-166, 168-169; of Senate, 168; 
committee on, 166. 

Salaries. See the several offices. 

Samoa, 264, 270. 

Savings banks, postal, 203. 

School district, in Central States, 10- 

11 . 

Schools, public. See Education. 

Secession, 273. 

Secretaries, federal. See the several 


federal departments (State, War, 

Navy, etc.). 

Sections of townships, 6. 

Selectmen, town, 3, 9. 

Senate, State, 49. 

Senate, United States, representa¬ 
tion in, 146—147; election of Sena¬ 
tors, 148; term, 148; vacancies in, 
148; qualifications of Senators, 
148-149; rights and privileges 
of members, 149-150; legislative 
powers, 150; executive functions, 
150-151; senatorial courtesy, 132, 
151, 188, note 1; judicial powers, 
151; presiding officer, 163-164. 
See Congress. 

Separation of powers, 43, 183. 

Sessions, regular and special, of city 
council, 22; of State legislature, 
49-50; of Congress, 161. 

Sewerage systems, 34. 

Sheriff, 4, 5, 11, 12. 

Sherman Anti-Trust Act, 252-253. 

Silver certificates, 233. 

Silver, coinage of, 232-233. 

“Slates,” political, 296. 

Slavery, abolition of, 129; slave trade, 

122 . 

Smithsonian Institution, 207. 

Solicitor, city, 25. See Attorney, 
prosecuting. 

South Carolina, 40, 49, 69, 102, 115, 
122, 157, 309, 310. 

South Dakota, 8, 9, 11, 13, 310. 

Speaker of House of Representatives, 
133, 164-166. 

Special assessments, 20-21. 

Special legislation for cities, 18. 

Special sessions, of city council, 22; 
of State legislature, 49-50; of 
Congress, 161, 193. 

Specie payments, resumption of, 239. 

Spoils system, in city government, 
26, 28; in state government, 63-64; 
in federal government, 189-191. 

Staff, general, 201. 

Standards, bureau of, 206. 

State, secretary of, in common¬ 
wealths, 60, 61. 

State, secretary of (federal), 192, 
199-200, 258. 

States, constitutions of, 40-46; legis¬ 
lative departments of, 41-42, 48- 
55; limitations on, under federal 



INDEX 


XXXlll 


constitution, 53, 141; executive 
department, 42, 57-64; judiciary, 
42, 66-75; power over crime, 77- 
82; control of economic interests, 
84-95; control of education, 96- 
106; finance, 107-117; interstate 
and federal relations, 136-145; 
sphere of activity, 1, 52-53, 139- 
140; admission to Union, 44, 271- 
272; position in the Union, 273; 
rural local government in, 1-13; 
city government in, 15-38. 

Streets, city, 33-34. 

Strikes, 87. 

Subpoena, 72. 

Subsidies, ship, 244. 

Succession, presidential, 180-181. 

Suffrage, qualifications for, 49, 287, 
309-311. 

Sumter, city-manager plan in, 28. 

Superintendent of schools, in cities, 
32, 102; county superintendent, 5, 
13, 103; State superintendent or 
commissioner, 60, 62, 103. 

Supervisor, township, 8, 9, 11; 

county, see Commissioner, county. 

Supreme court, State, 68; judges of, 
69; power to adjudge legislative 
acts unconstitutional, 73-74; ju¬ 
dicial control of executive officials, 
74. 

Supreme Court, United States, 209, 
213-214. See Judiciary, federal; 
also Constitutionality of legisla¬ 
tion. 

Surrogate, county, 5. 

Surveyor, county, 13; State, 62. 

Surveys, public land, 6. 

Tariff duties, as a form of tax, 223- 
224; as commercial regulations, 
245-246. 

Tax commissioner. State, 62. 

Taxation. See Finance. 

Tennessee, 102, 152, 310. 

Tenure of Office Act, 189. 

Territories, power of Congress con¬ 
cerning, 262; territorial acquisi¬ 
tions, 262-264; territorial legisla¬ 
tion, 265-266; government of ter¬ 
ritories, 266-271; admission of new 
States, 271-273. 

Texas, 263, 266, 286, 310. 

Textbooks, 104. 


Third term doctrine, 179. 

Thirteenth amendment, 129. 

Tonnage tax, 244. 

Torts, 71. 

Towns, general features of, in New 
England, 3; government of, in New 
England, 3-4; town-meeting in 
New England, 3-4; in the Central 
States, 8. 

Township, origin of, in the Middle 
West, 6; officers of, in Central 
States, 9-10; township board, 9; 
township-county system, 6-13. 

Trade. See Commerce. 

Trade-marks, 95. 

Treason, 77, 290-291. 

Treasurer, county, 5, 12; town, 4; 
township, 8, 10; city, 25; State, 
60, 61. 

Treasury, federal department of, 200. 

Treaties, power over, 150, 192-193, 
258. 

Trials, judicial. See Procedure, 
civil and criminal. 

Trustees, township, 8, 9, 11. 

Trusts, State regulation of, 91-92; 
federal regulation of, 252-254. 

Twelfth amendment, 128. 

Two-thirds rule, 305. 

Unconstitutional legislation. See 
Constitutionality of legislation. 

Undervaluation of property, 111-112. 

Unit rule, 305. 

Universities and colleges, 98-100. 

Unwritten constitution of the United 
States, 131-134. 

Urban. See Citv. 

Utah, 102, 263, 272, 310. 

Verdict of jury, 73, 80. 

Vermont, 59, 69, 99, 101, 158, 266, 

309, 310. 

Veto-power, of mayor, 22-24; of 
governor, 52, 59; of President, 169, 
194; of territorial governor, 267. 

Vice-President, election of, 174-177, 
180; salary and functions, 180. 

Virginia, 5, 40, 69, 99, 115, 120, 121, 
123, 125, 157, 264, 265, 268, 272, 

310. 

Virginia plan, in Constitutional Con¬ 
vention, 120, 123. 

Volunteers, army, 277. 



xxxiv 


INDEX 


Voting, methods of, in Congress, 169; 
qualifications for, 49, 287, 309- 
311; registration, 311; casting and 
counting ballots, 314-315. 

War, Department of, 200-201; 
powers of President and Congress, 
131, 184-186, 275-278; declara¬ 
tion of war, 275. See Military 
functions. Militia. 

Warrants, police, 77. 

Washington, D.C., government of, 
268-269; street-plan of, 34. 

Washington, George, 119, 124, 125- 
126. 

Washington (State), 13, 18, 60, 157, 
310. 

Wastes, disposal of, 34. 

Water supply, city, 35. 

Waterways, 93-94. 


Ways and Means Committee, in 
House of Representatives, 221. 

Weather bureau, work of, 205-206. 

Weights and measures. State super¬ 
intendent of, 62; regulation of, 94, 
250, 288-289. 

West Point, 106, 201, 278-279. 

West Virginia, 5, 100, 240, 266, 
272. 

White House, the, 179, 180. 

W’ills, probate of, 69. 

Wisconsin, 8, 9, 11, 26, 28, 30, 63, 
99, 115, 264, 310. 

Woman’s suffrage, 310-311. 

Work-houses, 81. 

Working-classes. See Labor. 

Wrongs, redress of private, 71-73; 
redress of public wrongs, 77-80. 

Wyoming, 13, 100, 155, 157, 263, 
310. 








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